Phineas and Ferb and The Serpent's Sacrifice
by EDD17SP
Summary: It's been five years since Ohio Flynn met Isabella in Panama, and a year since their falling out. Now, Dr. Doofenshmirtz is back, and he wants revenge on the world! Ohio Flynn and Rhode Island Fletcher, with some help from Django Brown, chase Doofenshmirtz around the world to Panama, Egypt, China, and Istanbul to save the world from destruction and rescue Isabella! Phineabella!
1. Prologue

Phineas and Ferb and The Serpent's Sacrifice

**I do not own Phineas and Ferb, or in this case, Ohio Flynn and Rhode Island Fletcher.**

**I've been wanting to write an Ohio Flynn/Rhode Island Fletcher story for a long time now, so I decided this would be a good time to do that. Indiana Jones is my favorite movie series, after all, and I've read Indy comics and novels, too. Therefore, I'm going to make this story even a little closer to the Indy franchise than the Phineas and Ferb episode. I also wanted to try a story where Phineas and Isabella "make up" instead of just falling in love, which at this point, I have overdone.**

**As per the original Indiana Jones, Irving is essentially Marcis Brody, and Django is Sallah, roles that would be much better for Buford and Baljeet, but, as you will see, Buford and Baljeet are otherwise occupied.**

**This was originally part of _Don't Deny It and other short Phineabella stories_ but it has been removed from that and reposted here by itself because I thought it deserved it's own story.**

**I hope you guys like it! This might be one of the most exciting (and complex) stories I've ever written!**

Prologue

_Panama, 1914_

Buford tossed the mooring lines onto the rickety wooden dock and a dockhand slipped the looped end over a cleat, securing the riverboat. "Alright, everybody off!" He barked at the five passengers.

"Thank you again for rescuing us," New Hampshire Garcia-Shapiro said to Captain Baljeet.

"Do not mention it, babe," Baljeet replied.

Ohio Flynn and Rhode Island Fletcher hopped to the dock and helped Candace, Isabella, and New Hampshire step over the boat's gunwale to join them.

"Thanks again for saving me and my mom," Isabella said to Ohio. "And, again, I'm sorry I betrayed you."

Ohio waved his hand. "Don't worry about it. Happens to us all the time." He elbowed Rhode Island. "Remember that time in Honduras?"

Rhode Island rolled his eyes. "Who could forget it?"

Isabella put a hand on Ohio's shoulder. "Well, Mom and I are heading home. Do you guys want to join us?"

"I will," Candace said raising her hand. "I need a break after all this trekking through the jungle." She held up her waterlogged camera. "And I need to buy a new camera."

"What about you guys?" Isabella asked.

Phineas pointed over his shoulder. "Nah. Rhode Island and I are going back into the jungle to look for our hats." He rubbed his bare head.

"Really? Your hats?" Isabella said with a glare.

"We're rather attached to them."

New Hampshire spoke up. "Isn't it weird that all five us were wearing hats when the temple collapsed, and then we fell into the river and Candace and myself didn't loose our hats, but you three did?"

"Yes, yes it is," Rhode Island agreed.

"Yeah, who writes this stuff?" Candace quipped.

Isabella looked at Ohio again. "Anyway, if you're ever in New York," she handed him yet another card, this one with her address printed on it, "stop by and see me."

"Of course I will!" Ohio exclaimed. "You can count on it."

"So long, boys," Isabella said with a wave.

"Bye!"

And with that, Isabella, New Hampshire, and Candace left, heading for the small airfield near the Rusty Pickaxe Saloon.

* * *

_New York City, One Year Later…give or take a few weeks_

Isabella rushed to answer the knock at the door of her high rise suite. "I'm coming!"

She flung open the door to find Ohio Flynn, dressed in a gray suit and a tie, but with his battered old fedora perched on his head. He gave a sly grin. "Hello, Isabella."

"Ohio!" She threw her arms around him in a friendly hug. "What are you doing here?"

"Rhode Island and I are in New York regularly. We work for the Museum of Natural History. Where do you think they get their artifacts from?"

Isabella laughed. "I hope you don't hit everything you find with a rock."

"I try. Anyway, we're here for a few days for the opening of a new exhibit," Ohio continued, "so I thought I'd look you up."

"Well, I'm so glad that you did," Isabella said with a smile. "Would you like to come in?"

"Actually, I came to see if you'd like to go to dinner with me?"

Isabella was slightly taken aback. She didn't really know this man. They'd only met once a year ago on their adventure in Panama. She looked him up and down. He was rather cute…

"That would be very nice. Thank you." Ohio smiled. Isabella looked down at her clothes. "Just give me a moment to change into something a little more appropriate."

"Put on the fanciest thing you've got," Ohio said, his sly grin returning.

Isabella raised an eyebrow. "Okay."

* * *

"I see you found your hat," Isabella said. They were at a very fancy restaurant on the Hudson waterfront. The hat in question was sitting on the edge of the table between them.

"Oh yeah. We both did. But that's not all we found."

Isabella looked up. "Oh, really? What else did you find?"

Ohio paused dramatically. "We found Doofenshmirtz."

Isabella shuttered. "In the debris from the temple?"

"Yes. I'm not sure how, but he survived. He's in the custody of the United States government."

Isabella relaxed noticeably. "That's comforting. What about that platypus that rescued us?"

Ohio shook his head. "Not a trace." He took a bite of his steak. "So how's the tile and grout business?" Ohio asked as they finished their dinner.

Isabella laughed. "I never said that's what I do for a living! I just said I was licensed."

"Oh, excuse me," Ohio laughed back. He smiled and she smiled back. _She looks really beautiful in that dress. The green really brings out her eyes._

Across the table, Isabella was thinking along those same lines. _He really is quite handsome without the boots and heavy leather jacket._

Ohio picked up his long-stemmed champagne glass and held it high. "I propose a toast." Isabella picked up her own glass and smiled. _Wow. She has a really incredible smile._ "A toast to our good fortunes, that we ended up in The Rusty Pickaxe at the same time." He looked straight into her eyes. "And to my new friend."

"I'll second that," Isabella said with a smile.

They clinked their glasses together and drained the bubbly liquid within.

* * *

They stopped outside the door to Isabella's apartment.

"It was really nice to see you again," Isabella told Ohio. "Thank you for dinner."

"You are quite welcome."

Isabella reached slowly for the doorknob. "Well…goodnight."

"Goodnight." Ohio leaned forward and kissed her full on the lips. When he pulled back, Isabella looked shocked, to the point of silence. "What can I say?" Ohio said with a shrug. "I'm an adventurer."

Isabella stared at him for a moment longer and then grabbed him by the front of his jacket. She pulled him into another kiss, this one much more passionate than the last. When they broke apart, they both smiled.

"Would you like to come in for a while?" Isabella asked.

Ohio laughed. "I would love to."

She pushed open the door and pulled Ohio inside. The door closed behind them with a click.

* * *

_New York City, 1919 (Four years later, incase you were wondering)_

The knock on the door startled Ohio. He dropped his fountain pen and crossed his office to the door in three steps. He unlocked it and pulled it open.

The person at the door was Irving Du Bois, the curator of the Museum of Natural History. "Ohio-"

"What, Irving? What?" Ohio barked. "I'm busy!"

The beady little man with glasses shrank back nervously. He'd never heard Ohio yell like that. "I, uh…I just got off the phone with someone from the BOI-"

Ohio closed his eyes and gave his head an annoyed shake. "The _what?_"

"The Bureau Of Investigation."

"Which is…?"

"The FBI. But they won't be called that for another seventeen years."

Ohio leaned his head against the door frame. "Fine. Stop breaking the fourth wall. What did they want?"

"You…and, you know, Ferb." Irving was one of the few people on the planet who actually knew Ohio and Rhode Island by their real names, and even fewer who _used _those names.

Ohio rubbed his eyes. "Why?"

Irving shook his head. "I don't know. They wouldn't tell me. They just insisted that you and Ferb get to Washington D.C. as soon as physically possible."

"Well, I don't particularly want to. Call them back and tell them thanks, but no thanks." Ohio started to close the door to his office, but Irving stuck his foot in the door. Ohio slowly opened it again, glaring at his boss and long time friend.

"What happened to you, Phineas?" Irving asked. "You used to be so happy, so full of life. Now you're always…surly and…I don't know, angrier. The last four expeditions you made Ferb go on alone while you stayed here and catalogued artifacts. You hate paperwork!" He looked at Ohio with a pleading expression. "What happened?"

Ohio didn't answer right away. "She did." He offered nothing more on the subject. Leaving the door open, he darted back into his office and tossed a few things into his briefcase before grabbing his fedora off the hat rack. He closed the door behind him and locked it. He headed down the hall toward the exit, followed closely by Irving. "Did you tell Rhode Island yet?" He asked.

"I'll call him right now," Irving said blankly.

"Good. Tell him I'll meet him at Grand Central Station in two hours." Ohio turned on his heel and stuck a finger at Irving's chest. "I expect there will be train tickets waiting for us when we get there."

"I know the drill," Irving assured him.

Ohio didn't move for a moment. He just stared at Irving, a hard look etched on his triangular face. Then he suddenly sighed, and lowered his arms. "I know you do," Ohio said quietly. He turned away. "Thank you."

Irving watched Ohio push the door open and place his fedora on his head as he did. Irving sighed. "Your welcome," he whispered after the door had closed. Irving spun on his heel and headed toward the stairs.

**How's ****_that_**** for an opening? **


	2. Chapter 1: Maryland

Chapter 1: Maryland

Ohio and Rhode Island, both dressed in identical gray suits and their old brown fedoras, stepped off the train before it had even come to a stop. They hopped a cab into the city of Washington and found themselves standing in front of a relatively new building labeled BOI.

Rhode Island looked at his long time friend. He was more concerned then ever about Ohio. On the long train ride down from New York, Ohio hadn't said one word to him. Rhode Island had tried to start a conversation several times but failed to get any response from Ohio. For once, Rhode Island was the talkative one.

Ohio pulled open the door to the building and they walked inside. The lobby was incredibly simple, with no décor and all white furniture to match the stark walls. Rhode Island felt more like he was in a mental institution than a government building.

The two men walked up to the front desk where a woman with big glasses sat. She did not look up until Phineas cleared his throat.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"I'm Phineas Flynn, this is Ferb Fletcher. We were-" he made quotations with his fingers. "-'summoned' here, but we don't know by who or for what reason."

She nodded slowly. "One moment." She picked up the phone on the desk. She gave the in-house switchboard operator the office she was trying to reach, and when the switchboard connected her, she said, "Sir, Mr. Flynn and Mr. Fletcher have arrived…yes, sir."

She hung up, but didn't even look at Ohio and Rhode Island again. Before either man could say anything, a pair of double doors beside the desk burst open and a man in a dark blue suit walked into the lobby. Ohio and Rhode Island jumped at his abrupt entrance.

"Flynn. Fletcher."

They looked at each other. "Yes?" they replied.

"Follow me please."

They shared a nervous look and followed the man through the doors. They were led silently through the halls and up a flight of stairs, eventually being pushed into a large, well-lit office with a huge window. The guide pulled the door closed and left.

A man was seated behind the desk in the center of the room, also wearing a suit and tie. "Hello, boys."

Ohio and Rhode Island stared at him wide-eyed. "Hello," Ohio said tentatively.

The man motioned to the two chairs that sat facing the front of the desk. "Please, have a seat."

They removed their fedoras and hesitantly sat down. The instant they were seated, the man stood up. "My name is John Marcis. I'm a detective here at the Bureau of Investigations." He turned and stared out the window.

When he didn't say anything else, Ohio spoke up. "So…why are we here?"

Marcis turned around. "We need your help."

"With _what_?" Ohio exploded. "Just tell us!"

Marcis grabbed a folder off the desk and tossed it at Ohio. "I believe you know this man."

Ohio opened the folder, filled with papers. Stapled to the top page was a picture of Doofenshmirtz. Ohio frowned. "Doofenshmirtz. Yeah, we're quite well acquainted with him."

"Are you aware that he escaped from federal prison three days ago?"

Ohio and Rhode Island leaned forward, blinking with surprise. "Escaped?!" Ohio exclaimed.

"Well, maybe not so much 'escaped' as 'vanished.' You see, he disappeared in the middle of the night. The door to his cell was still locked, there were no penetrations in the walls or floor, and there was no window in his cell that he could have climbed through. But that's not the strange part." He returned to his chair and sat down. "There was absolutely no trace of him."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, there were no finger prints, no body oil, not even so much as a stray hair. It was as if he'd never been in the cell."

Ohio and Rhode Island gave each other a knowing look, but said nothing.

"What we need is for you two to help us find Heinz Doofenshmirtz."

Ohio narrowed his eyes at Marcis. "Uh, I don't know if you noticed, but we're archeologists, not investigators."

Marcis opened a drawer and retrieved something from inside. He passed it to Ohio. "I think this might intrigue you."

It was a small, leather bound journal. There were several pieces of paper, acting as bookmarks, stuck between the pages. "Take a look at the first book mark."

Ohio opened the book to the first paper. A few lines of text had been underlined.

_April 3__rd__, 1919- For too long I've been locked up in this prison. The world must pay for the wrong doings it's dealt me! No longer am I interested in taking over the world. Now I only wish to destroy it!_

Ohio looked up. "Yeah, we've heard him say stuff like that a million times before. So what?"

"Read the next marked entry."

_April 29__th__, 1919- After much research, I have finally discovered the perfect method for destroying the world. Now I only need to figure a way out of this prison."_

"And the next one."

It was the last entry in the book. _May 15__th__, 1919- The celestial bodies are in the correct positions. I will perform the ritual tonight, and I will be free! I only need find my "assistant" and I will be out of the United States._

Ohio and Rhode Island shared another knowing glance. "Well, that would definitely explain how he escaped without a trace of his presence."

Marcis raised an eyebrow. "What would?"

"The 'Delilah Method.' Removes all physical traces of whoever performs the ritual from an area." Marcis raised an eyebrow. "Never mind." Ohio tossed the journal back up onto the desk. Marcis stood again.

"Doofenshmirtz was spotted in Panama City yesterday. We'd like you to head down there and find out what he's up to."

Ohio stood up and leaned over the desk toward Marcis. "Look, I told you. We aren't investigators. Why can't you just send your agents to find Doofenshmirtz?"

"We're still all waterlogged here cleaning up after the Great War. Besides, based on your reputations, and the fact that this sort of ancient hocus-pocus stuff involved would cause most others in the BOI to laugh, I thought you two were better qualified for the job."

Ohio backed away from the desk. "Well, I honestly don't care. Besides, Doofenshmirtz is such an idiot, he'll probably just destroy himself attempting whatever it is he's got planned." He turned to Rhode Island. "I'm going home. You can do whatever you want, but leave me out of it."

Ohio was halfway out the door to the office when Marcis called, "Oh, Mr. Flynn?"

"What?" Ohio seethed under his breath.

"There's one more thing that I think you should see."

Ohio slammed the door closed and returned to the desk. "This better be good."

Marcis picked up another file folder from the desk top. "Doofenshmirtz was sighted in Panama with this person. We believe he abducted her." He held the folder out.

Ohio swiped it away and opened it up. As soon as he saw the picture, his expression softened and his eyes widened. He lowered the folder and stared past Marcis out the window. "No. Can't be."

Rhode Island stood and looked over Ohio's shoulder at the open file. Inside the folder was a picture of Isabella.

Rhode Island turned to Marcis. "How can you be sure it was her? Why do you think she was abducted?"

"I sent agents to her apartment this morning. The place was ransacked, obvious signs of a struggle." He lowered his eyes. "You should know that while he was locked in prison, Doofenshmirtz was slowly going mad. I think you should consider him a greater threat than you think he is."

Ohio closed the folder and set it on the desk. "Thank you, Mr. Marcis," he said with a nod. Then he slowly turned and left the office.

* * *

Back out on the street, Ohio placed his fedora back on his head. Rhode Island hurried to catch up with him.

"Why would Doofenshmirtz go back to Panama?" Ohio said when Rhode Island caught up. "The Temple of Juatchadoon and the Corn Colossus were destroyed." He spotted a payphone and headed toward it. "There's only one other thing I can think of."

As they reached the phone, they stopped and looked at each other. "The Serpent."

Ohio picked up the phone and hurriedly asked the operator to connect him to New York City. Two more switchboards later, he finally heard a familiar, _"Hello?"_

"Irving!"

_"Phineas! How did it go at the BOI?"_

"No time to explain! Rhode Island and I have to get to Panama as fast as possible!"

_"As fast as possible, huh? I think your plane will be more direct and faster than train hoping your way down there…you know, providing your navigation skills have improved. I'll have Jeremy fly it down to you so you don't have to come all the way back here."_

"Great. And Irving, we're gonna need our gear."

_"Don't worry, I'll grab your stuff from your office as soon as I hang up."_

"Thanks, Irving." Ohio slammed down the receiver, leaving a very confused and somewhat hurt museum curator on the other end of the disconnected line.

* * *

The next day, Ohio and Rhode Island stood in a small field near the Maryland coast. The sky was overcast and the strong wind battered the coastline with waves. Both men held onto their hats to keep them from blowing off their heads. They scanned the sky to the north-west, searching for the familiar little Curtiss JN-4 biplane owned by the museum.

Rhode Island looked at Ohio. They'd barely spoken since yesterday. "Ohio," he said. Ohio turned. "You never told me what happened between you and Isabella."

Ohio looked away. "I know what you're trying to do. Don't."

"Phineas."

Ohio was surprised that Rhode Island used his real name. He briefly glanced at Rhode Island then turned back to the sky. His lower lip trembled just a little and he shut his eyes as if in pain. "She left me, okay?"

Rhode Island was slightly shocked. "Why?"

"She said she'd had enough. Said I was never there for her. Said I put archeology and adventuring ahead of her." He sighed. "The worst part is, she was right. For every day I spent with her, I spent a week slogging through some jungle or spelunking in some cave looking for lost treasure with you." Ohio straightened up and adjusted his suit coat. "I tried. I couldn't. Archeology is my life." Ohio shook his head. "I just couldn't. So she broke it off."

Rhode Island heard the sound of a Curtiss OX-5 V8 piston engine. In the distance, a spec appeared in the sky. "When was the last time you saw her?"

"The day she broke it off, about two years ago. I haven't seen her since."

The spec turned into a little biplane as it grew closer. It circled the field once, the pilot feeling out the wind conditions and lining up the nose of the plane to face into the wind.

"Phineas?" Ohio turned to face his friend again. "Do you still love her?"

Ohio looked away and watched the plane touch down and bounce along the uneven ground. "Yes. Yes I do."

**Okay, so basically, John Marcis is the ancestor of Steve Marcis, my OC from my P&F Industries series.**


	3. Chapter 2: Return to Panama

Chapter 2: Return to Panama

The little JN-4 biplane, more commonly known as a "Jenny" was frequently utilized by Ohio and Rhode Island. Owned by the Museum of Natural History, they'd flown it enough miles to circle the globe twice and both were skilled pilots.

Ohio had insisted on flying, much to Rhode Island's displeasure. Ohio flew very roughly in his distraught and angered state, and by the time they landed in Mexico to refuel, Rhode Island was about ready to throw up in his flight cap.

They reached Central America in one piece and touched down in a farmer's field a few miles outside of Panama City. Ohio misjudged his speed and nearly succeeded in leveling a small barn.

The two men climbed down from the Jenny, both dressed in their leather jackets, boots, and satchels. Ohio also had a coiled bullwhip clipped to his belt. They both swapped their goggles and pilot caps for their fedoras before removing the spark plugs from the engine (to sway any potential plane hi-jackers) and beginning their long walk into the city.

"I am never letting you fly again," Rhode Island muttered under his breath. As was the usual, Ohio didn't reply.

They reached the city an hour later.

"Where do we start?" Rhode Island asked.

Ohio pointed down the long street toward the shore line of West Bay. "We hop a ride into the jungle. If Doofenshmirtz is still even _in_ Panama, that's where he'll be."

* * *

Doofenshmirtz brandished a long stick whittled to a sharp point at Isabella. "I suggest you get a move on," he said, venom in his voice.

Isabella shrank back against a large outcropping of rock at the base of a tree. Her dark hair, frizzy from the intense humidity, fell in front of her face in tangled clumps. She was about at the point of tears. "I can't!" she cried. "I don't know anything about this place!"

Doofenshmirtz sneered. "Weren't you the one who discovered the ancient manuscript while on an expedition with your mother? You know better than anyone the stories."

"Yes! I admit it! But no one knows what's down there, and I don't really want to risk my life to find out."

Doofenshmirtz pressed the pointed end of the stick against Isabella's stomach. "Well, I hope your archeological skills are pretty good then. Because if you don't go in there-" he applied pressure to the stick. Isabella cried out in pain. "-then I will kill you. If you can lead me safely through, then you'll live…for now."

The structure in question through which Doofenshmirtz required guidance was not really a structure at all. It was actually a cave, sloped downward into the earth, located in the middle of unexplored jungle. It's small entrance was barely noticeable beneath a clump of shrubbery. The inside was a labyrinth, hopeless to navigate unless one already knew the way through.

Doofenshmirtz leaned closer to Isabella's face. "Do you understand me?" Isabella nodded nervously. Doofenshmirtz retracted his stick and motioned with it toward the cave entrance. "Then lead."

Isabella took a deep breath and hesitantly stepped into the cave.

* * *

"Well, don't those two look familiar?" Rhode Island said, pointing to a small boat tied up to a dock on the wharf.

"Yes, yes they do."

They stepped up to the two men by the boat. They were loading crates marked "Maraschino Cherries" onto the deck.

"Captain Baljeet!" Ohio called out. "Buford!"

The two men looked up at the sound of their names. Baljeet put his hands on his hips and smirked. "Well, well, well. Somehow I had a feeling we would be crossing paths again with Ohio Flynn and Rhode Island Fletcher."

The adventures stopped when they reached the boat's mooring. Ohio spoke hastily to Baljeet. "We need a ride into the jungle. Think you can help us out?"

"Depends. Are you two going to need rescuing again?"

Ohio and Rhode Island looked at each other, then back at Baljeet. "We certainly hope not. Can you give us a ride or not? We're in a bit of a hurry."

"Sheesh!" Baljeet said, rolling his eyes. "Pushy! Sure, we can give you a ride."

"Great!" Rhode Island stepped between them and pulled an incomplete map of the Panama canal from his satchel. Baljeet stepped around to look at. It showed the canal and its lakes, the Rusty Pickaxe, and the former location of the Temple of Juatchadoon, but the rest was blank. Ohio pointed to the map as he spoke to Baljeet. "We need to go somewhere in this area." He pointed just east of the Temple of Juatchadoon marking, tracing the river with his finger. "We don't know the exact location of what we're looking for, but we think it's somewhere in this ravine in this unexplored area of the jungle."

Baljeet rubbed his chin. "And I suppose you would like us to wait for you?"

"That would be nice, yes."

Baljeet groaned. "Fine. But it is going to cost you."

"Just send our bill to the Museum of Natural History in New York City."

Baljeet smiled. He turned and called to Buford. "Cast off lines and prepare to sail!"

Buford saluted mockingly. "Aye-aye, Captain!"

* * *

Isabella held the lantern Doofenshmirtz had given her around a sharp bend in the cave. She peered around the rock corner for a moment, then faced Doofenshmirtz. "It's right around the corner," she said. "Can I go now?"

Doofenshmirtz laughed. "No, don't be ridiculous! I have much further need of your services." He grabbed her arm and dragged her behind him around the corner.

They climbed down a small flight of stairs, Doofenshmirtz using his pointy stick as a cane. At the bottom, the room ended in a curved wall, obviously carved out by hand. A niche was carved into the wall, and in the niche rested a slightly curved, conical piece of gold, about the length of one's finger.

"Ah, finally!" Doofenshmirtz said. "The first piece…" He reached for it slowly.

"Doofenshmirtz!" Doofenshmirtz turned at the sound of his name. Ohio and Rhode Island stood at the top of the stairs. "Let her go!" Ohio yelled.

Doofenshmirtz smiled evilly. "Somehow, I was expecting a visit from Ohio Flynn and Rhode Island Fletcher. I just didn't think it would be this soon."

"Let her go!" Ohio demanded again.

"No, I don't think I will. I have further need of her services."

Ohio pointed as menacingly as he could at the madman. "You don't have a choice. We're blocking your only exit. You're trapped."

"No, I'm afraid _you_ are the ones who are trapped."

Ohio and Rhode Island looked around, expecting some sort of trap to spring on them, but none did. "Ummm…we're not trapped."

"Oh, sorry to disappoint you. There's no _physical_ trap. But you're still going to let me walk out of here. You can't even try to stop me."

"Oh yeah?" Ohio shot back. "And what happens if we do try?"

Doofenshmirtz dropped his pointy stick and whipped a .45 colt revolver from his pocket and pressed it against Isabella's temple. "Ohio!" Isabella shrieked. She shuddered and tried to move away, but Doofenshmirtz pulled her closer and kept the gun to her head.

"NO!" Ohio yelled.

"If you come any closer, I'll blow your little friend's brains out."

Ohio and Rhode Island looked at each other hopelessly. They slowly took a step backwards.

"That's more like it." Doofenshmirtz grabbed the chunk of gold from the niche and placed it carefully into his pocket, still holding the revolver to Isabella's head. Then he walked slowly up the steps toward the two men, dragging Isabella behind him. Ohio and Rhode Island stood to the side so he would have room to pass them in the narrow cavern.

Ohio looked into Isabella's eyes as they grew closer. Her eyes begged him to save her.

When Doofenshmirtz and Isabella were just a few feet away, Rhode Island whispered to Ohio, "This is just like that time in Greece, remember?"

Ohio faced him and frowned. "Greece?"

Rhode Island slightly shifted his foot on the ground, creating a shuffling noise. Ohio's eyes widened. "Right. Greece!"

Doofenshmirtz and Isabella passed by, close enough for the two men to touch them. As they passed, Rhode Island calmly stuck out his foot.

"Yahh!" Doofenshmirtz cried as his foot caught on Rhode Island's boot. The madman fell forward, accidentally squeezing the trigger of his gun as he fell. The bullet lodged harmlessly in the wall. The gun slipped out of his hand as he hit the floor and slid away.

Ohio grabbed Isabella's arm. "Run!"

The three of them stepped over Doofenshmirtz as the man reached to pick up the colt. They disappeared into the maze.

"No!" Doofenshmirtz cried, and he followed as fast as his legs would carry him.

* * *

Ohio, Rhode Island, and Isabella ran up the steep incline and burst into the jungle, panting for breath as they ran. Doofenshmirtz was just a few steps behind them. He raised the revolver and fired off two shots.

His targets ducked as the bullets whizzed through the trees above them. Ohio dragged Isabella up the side of the ravine toward the river channel.

Doofenshmirtz lost sight of his targets as they crested the top of the hill. "NORM!" He yelled.

"Yes, sir?" The mechanical voice came from right next to Doofenshmirtz and he jumped.

"Where did you come from? Never mind, just don't let the girl escape!"

"I'm on it, sir."

Ohio could see the river and the little boat on the bank where Baljeet had moored to a tree. He waved and yelled, "Cast off! Cast off!" but they were too far away to hear him.

What happened next, Ohio could not explain. One moment, he had hold of Isabella's forearm, towing her along. The next, she was gone.

Ohio and Rhode Island quickly stopped and looked around, but could not spot Isabella. Then they looked up.

Norm was hanging upside down from a tree branch above their heads and had reached down with his mechanically extended arms to grab Isabella.

"Ohio! Help!" Isabella screamed.

Before either adventurer could move, Doofenshmirtz caught sight of them again through the bushes and fired off another two rounds. Ohio and Rhode Island ducked and scrambled backwards, giving Norm the opportunity to jump down from the tree.

With Isabella perched high on his shoulder, too high for her to safely jump to the ground, Norm raised his arms. His right arm transformed into a Gatling gun and he took hold of the crank with his left. "I just love obsolete weaponry!" Norm began to crank.

Ohio and Rhode Island tore away from the scene as hundreds of bullets filled the air around them. They eventually dove behind a large tree for cover, helpless as they listened to bullets chew into the other side of the tree.

"Why don't we carry guns?" Ohio asked, annoyed.

"Because this is a kids show."

"Oh…wait, then why does Doofenshmirtz get one?"

"Um…because he's insane?"

Ohio considered that. "Yeah, I guess I can't argue with that."

Doofenshmirtz finally caught up to Norm, but instead of stopping he ran right past the robot, heading for the river bank. "Quit fooling around, Norm! Hurry up!"

Norm stopped firing and followed Doofenshmirtz, taking Isabella off his shoulder and holding her in his left hand. "Coming, sir!"

Ohio peaked around the tree when the hail of lead stopped and saw Doofenshmirtz and Norm, with Isabella, running toward the river and Baljeet's boat. "Come on, Rhode Island!" They stood and gave pursuit, but they were much too far behind.

Doofenshmirtz and Norm leapt from the bank to the deck of the little river boat. Baljeet and Buford jumped in surprise. Before either could say anything, Doofenshmirtz stuck his gun in Baljeet's face. "I'd really appreciate it if you could get us back to Panama City," he said. "I wouldn't want to stain your nice white deck red."

Baljeet nudged Buford to untie the bowline. "R-right away, mister!" He quickly took hold of the wheel and pushed the throttle up as the boat drifted away from the shore. He spun the boat around in the channel and headed upriver back to West Bay.

Ohio and Rhode Island reached the river bank just in time to see the small boat disappear around a bend in the river.


	4. Chapter 3:The Myth of the Golden Serpent

Chapter 3: The Myth of the Golden Serpent

Django was waiting when Ohio and Rhode Island pushed their way out of the crowd disembarking from the _Nouakchott Wind_.

"Hello, my friends!" Django called, his cheery voice booming above the milling of the crowd.

"Hi, Django," Rhode Island said when they reached him. The two shook hands, which quickly turned into a quick hug as Django's overly friendly nature took over. Django turned to do the same to Ohio, but the adventurer had already walked passed him. Django and Rhode Island turned and spotted Ohio, and quickly followed him to the next dock over.

"Hello, Ohio," Django said indignantly when they caught up.

"Hi," Ohio replied tersely.

Django frowned and then brightened up again. "So…I get a call from Irving two days ago saying to pick you up from the port in Ra's Gharib today, but wouldn't, or couldn't, tell me why you were coming."

"We'll tell you in transit," Ohio said.

They headed to a spot around the corner from the docks where luggage was being offloaded from the _Nouakchott Wind._ The passenger's bags and cases were stacked under a tent on a flat, unoccupied dock. Beside the tent was the biplane. It had been lashed to the deck of the ship for the trip across the Atlantic Ocean.

"Why didn't you guys just fly here instead of paying extra to have your plane shipped here?" Django asked as they headed for it.

"Doesn't have the range," Ohio said. "Would have had to fly all the way up to Greenland and hop down across Europe to get here. Faster by boat."

Django nodded slowly. "Makes sense."

"We have to get a barge to take us up river a few miles to a suitable field…or, I guess here in Egypt, a nearby patch of undeveloped desert, to take off from," Ohio added.

"I can help with that," Django said, and he quickly left the two adventurers.

* * *

Half an hour later, the Jenny had been loaded onto a small barge operated by one of Django's friends in town. They were floating slowly up river to a small airfield where the plane could take off, pushed by a small tug boat.

"Is there anyone in this town that you aren't friends with?" Rhode Island asked, recalling many previous trips where Django had called upon a friend who "owed him one."

"No. I know everyone." Django hung onto a wing strut to avoid falling off the side of the barge. "Now, I would love to know what we're going after."

"More like who we're going after," Ohio groaned as he lifted a medium-sized but very heavy case up into the cargo hold of the airplane. When he had set the case down and locked the cargo hold, he leaned against the fuselage and turned to Django. "Doofenshmirtz."

Django's jaw dropped a bit. "I thought he was in prison!"

"Not anymore." Ohio quickly explained how Doofenshmirtz had escaped from jail and relayed what had been written in the madman's journal. "And worst of all," he finished, "he's got Isabella. He's forcing her to help him."

"Isabella?" Django said questioningly. "You mean that girl that you-"

"Yes." Ohio glared at his old friend. "Her."

"Okay. I'm sorry I brought it up."

"Don't be." Ohio stood and hopped up onto the lower port wing next to where Rhode Island was sitting. "Anyway, we followed him to the Panama jungle right where we expected him to be-"

It was Django's turn to interrupt. "Which was where, exactly?"

"The cave."

"What cave?"

Rhode Island and Ohio looked at each other. Ohio jumped down from the wing and stepped closer to Django before speaking in a hushed tone. "Django, what I am about to tell you, only five people on the planet know about. Myself and Rhode Island, Isabella, New Hampshire Garcia-Shapiro, and, apparently, Doofenshmirtz. You have to promise me that you will _never_ tell a soul about this."

"I promise," Django said without hesitation. "Now tell me."

Ohio took a deep breath before beginning. "The cave we tracked Doofenshmirtz to is one of four supposed locations around the world that protect a piece of the Serpent."

Django's face warped with confusion. "The _what_?"

"The Gold Serpent. A small, solid gold statue divided into four segments made by…well, we don't actually know. But, it's suspected to be as about as old as time itself. Isabella and her mother discovered a manuscript on Easter Island three years ago, explaining what the Serpent was."

Ohio returned to the side of the plane and leaned against it. "We don't know who made the Serpent, but each segment was entrusted to one of the great ancient civilizations around the world. The tail is, or was, in Panama, having been entrusted to the Mayans. The lower body is here, in Egypt. The upper body is in China, probably given to, and we suspect buried with, Qin Shi Huang. And the head is in Istanbul, given to the Romans when it acted as their capital city."

"And what happens when the pieces are joined?"

Ohio didn't answer right away. When he did, he looked scared. "The four pieces must be joined at the earth's magnetic north pole."

"Which is different than the geographic north pole," Rhode Island spoke up. "And much harder to find."

Ohio continued. "There is nothing to hold the pieces together. The Serpent isn't a jigsaw puzzle. To stay together, they must be…" He swallowed. "Submerged in the blood of a female sacrifice."

"Isabella." Django said.

"Most likely," Ohio replied. "Then the pieces will merge and become a real snake. It will burrow into the earth at the pole and dig all the way to the south pole. It'll cause a polar shift."

"Which is what?"

"Magnetic north will become magnetic south, and vice versa," Ohio explained. "It will cause the earth to literally flip upside down."

Django bit his lip. "How bad is that?"

"Imagine the most powerful earthquake you can and then imagine an earthquake a hundred times worse."

"That bad, huh?"

"Volcanoes will erupt. New volcanoes will appear were there previously wasn't one. The seas will boil from the magma spilling out from undersea vents. The sun will be blocked out by the sheer amount of ash and smoke in the atmosphere, but the earth won't get cold. The magma will raise the temperature until the ice caps melt, and the sea level will rise far inland." Ohio looked away. "If we don't stop Doofenshmirtz, all life on earth will be wiped out."

Django thought for a moment. "Think that's what killed the dinosaurs?"

"There's a good chance," Rhode Island put in.

"Anyway, Doofenshmirtz needed Isabella to guide him through the cave in Panama where the tail was hidden. Hopefully, we can beat them to the second Segment and catch him by surprise, capturing the tail and rescuing Isabella."

Rhode Island jumped down from the wing to the deck of the barge and pulled a map from his satchel. He pointed to the middle of the desert. "Giza."

"You think the Serpent Segment is in one of the pyramids?" Django asked.

"No," Ohio said. "The pyramids are tombs. Why would they hide the Segment in there?"

"But you said you think one piece is in Qin Shi Huang's tomb. Why shouldn't this one be in one of the pyramids?"

For the first time in almost a year, Ohio smirked and his eyes twinkled the way they do when he and Rhode Island are on the brink of an archeological treasure. "Why do you think they built the Sphinx?"

**Cliffhanger!**


	5. Chapter 4: The Sphinx's Secret

Chapter 4: The Sphinx's Secret

A lone Arab leading a camel across the desert looked up at the sky at the unfamiliar noise and watched the little biplane circle the Great Sphinx once, and then touch down on the packed sand about a hundred yards beside it.

Ohio, Rhode Island, and Django climbed from the plane. "You guys do know that the Sphinx is solid, right?" Django asked as Ohio and Rhode Island pushed their fedoras onto their heads. "They've tested it. There's no way there's something inside."

Rhode Island opened the cargo hold and removed the heavy case while Ohio looked at Django. "We never said it was hollow. But that doesn't mean it can't be."

Django raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You'll see." Rhode Island lugged over the case and set it on the sand in the shadow cast by the airplane, the only protection they had from the desert sun. Ohio popped open the latch on the case and opened it. Inside, among a myriad of assorted climbing gear, were two coils of thick rope, each with a grappling hook attached to one end. Ohio and Rhode Island each took one coil and slung it over their shoulder. "Come on. We don't know how long we have before Doofenshmirtz shows up."

They hurried across the hot sand and stood in front of the Sphinx. Ohio dropped his coil of rope and picked up the grappling hook. Rhode Island did the same. "Rhode Island and I are going up. We need you to stay down here."

"I can do that," Django answered. "I'm not a big fan of heights anyway."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Why do you think my profession is archeological excavation?"

Ohio nodded. "Makes sense." He climbed up onto the left front paw of the Sphinx, which lay flat out in front of the giant statue. Rhode Island climbed onto the opposite one. Each took aim and twirled their grappling hooks until, judging they had enough momentum, let them fly up toward the top of the head. It took a few tries for both of them to hook something solid with their respective hooks.

"Okay, here we go," Ohio said, and he and Rhode Island began to climb the length of rope trailing down the side of the head. When they reached the top, they carefully clambered around to the front of the cranium, a difficult task made even harder considering they didn't have the bridge of the nose to gain a foot hold on.

Each explorer removed a small hammer and a rock chisel from their satchels and held them up to the eyes. "What exactly are you guys doing?" Django called up.

"Breaking the pupils," Ohio said calmly. Django winced as Ohio and Rhode Island each put their chisels against the centers of the eyes and began pounding against them. In a few strikes, the chisels broke through, revealing a small empty cavity behind the pupils. They enlarged their holes, and when the sunlight shone through, it revealed a handle in each cavity, meant to be pulled straight down.

"Ready, Django?" Ohio called down.

"Ready for what?"

"You'll see in a second."

Ohio and Rhode Island each took hold of their respective handle. "On three," Ohio said. Rhode Island nodded. "One…two…three!" They each jerked their handle down hard and from inside the Sphinx, a mechanical clanking sound could be heard.

Down below, Django noticed something on the front chest of the Sphinx, directly between the two front paws. A section of stone had slid backwards and then down, revealing another much larger handle. "Should I pull that?" he called up.

"Yes! And hurry! That hole will only stay open as long as we hold these handles down." Ohio's voice was strained as he struggled to hold his handle.

Django ran forward and reached into the hole. It was almost too deep to reach, but he just managed to grab hold of the handle and yank it down. There was another loud clanking sound inside the statue. Django stepped back and watched for something to happen.

Meanwhile, Ohio and Rhode Island were sliding down their grappled ropes. They landed on the front paws just in time to see a huge slab of rock on the front of the Sphinx drop straight down into the earth. It created a five foot deep cavity on the Sphinx's chest. Then a moment later, another slab just behind it dropped, and then another, and another, until a tunnel had been created nearly all the way through the Sphinx, ending just a few feet in front of the tail.

Django stared, wide eyed. "Wow. Who knew?"

"See what I meant?" Ohio said. "The Sphinx itself wasn't hollow, just the area beneath it. Allowed this tunnel to be created."

"I never would have guessed."

"Yes, the ancient Egyptians were quite crafty, weren't they?"

At the previously unheard voice, the three friends spun around and found Doofenshmirtz and Isabella standing right behind them. Doofenshmirtz was once again holding his Colt .45 against Isabella's temple. He had dressed in a white suit and white fedora again, just as he had at the Temple of Juatchadoon.

"Doofenshmirtz. Again." Ohio growled. "Don't suppose you'd be willing to let Isabella go this time."

Doofenshmirtz laughed. "Not a chance! Now-" he reached into his pocket and pulled out a second .45, and this one he pointed toward Ohio, Rhode Island and Django. "-get in there!" He motioned toward the tunnel with the gun.

The three hesitated. Doofenshmirtz pointed the gun just above their heads and fired a round into the chest of the Sphinx.

"NOW!" Doofenshmirtz yelled.

Ohio pulled down the brim of his hat so that Isabella couldn't see his eyes and slowly headed into the tunnel, Rhode Island and Django right behind him. Doofenshmirtz, dragging Isabella, followed.

When they had all just barely cleared the doorway, Doofenshmirtz said, "Stop." He looked at Isabella. "Tell me where the traps are."

"Who says there's traps?" she squeaked.

Doofenshmirtz pressed the barrel of the gun harder into Isabella's temple. She shrieked and shrank back. "There's just two! The first one is a dummy floor section that will drop away if you step on it."

Everyone quickly looked down at their feet. The entire floor was actually the tops of the descended blocks. Each block was the width of the tunnel and about five feet long. It was impossible to tell which one was different.

"What's the second?" Doofenshmirtz growled.

"The little pedestal that the Serpent Segment is on. If you move it at all when you pick up the segment, the floor falls out."

"Okay, so I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. But now, I have a bigger bridge to cross…" Doofenshmirtz smiled evilly at the three men in front of him. He waved his free gun at them. "You three are going to find the dummy in the floor. One at a time, start walking."

They looked at each other nervously, then turned. Django started to walk, but Ohio grabbed his shoulder. "Let me go first." Django squinted with disbelief. "Trust me," Ohio said.

Django stood aside so that Ohio could pass. Ohio looked down at the floor, and then up at the ceiling. There were brackets that hung from the ceiling, obviously what held up the rock slabs when they were raised. As Ohio took the first step, he took his bullwhip from his belt and grasped the handle.

The first block was solid. Ohio slowly turned back to look at everyone behind him, but he refused to look Isabella in the eye. "Come on! I haven't got all day! Get moving!" Doofenshmirtz yelled.

Ohio turned back. He stepped to the edge of the block and slowly stepped onto the next one. It was solid, too. So was the next one and the one after that. He set his foot down on the fifth one…and it fell away, dropping into the earth. Ohio's foot found only air.

"Yah!" As he started to fall forward, Ohio moved his right arm in one quick motion, unfurling the whip and flinging it upward, flicking his wrist as it reached the top of its arc. The end of the whip lashed around the bracket, and Ohio fell forward. He dangled over nothingness, quickly grasping the handle with his left hand, too.

"OHIO!" Isabella screamed, covering her mouth with her hands.

Ohio gasped as he looked down. He quickly and carefully pumped his legs back and forth until he gained enough momentum to swing over the empty hole. When he reached the far side, he turned around, breathing hard.

"Good thing I trusted you," Django said slowly.

Ohio moved back to the middle of the passage, still clutching the handle of the whip. "Rhode Island," he said, motioning. Rhode Island moved to the center of the passage and caught the whip handle when Ohio swung it across the gap. He handed it to Django, and the professional digger swung across to join Ohio. Then Doofenshmirtz, Isabella, and finally, Rhode Island, took their turns crossing. They left the whip dangling from the bracket.

"Out of the way," Doofenshmirtz barked, pushing his way past the others, dragging Isabella behind him. On the wall at the end of the tunnel was a niche in the wall, but unlike the one in Panama, this niche contained a six inch tall, spindly pedestal on top of which was the lower body segment of the Golden Serpent. Doofenshmirtz inspected it for a moment, then grabbed Isabella again and pulled her to his face. "What was it that you said about the pedestal?"

"You can't move it at all. If it shifts even the tiniest little bit, the floor will fall out," she answered timidly.

"Pft. Piece of cake. My long, spider-like fingers were just made for this," Doofenshmirtz said, flexing his fingers for all to see. Ohio and Django's faces tightened in anger as they watched Doofenshmirtz reach for the little piece of gold in the niche and pluck it carefully off the flimsy pedestal. (Rhode Island, as usual, was stoic.)

Doofenshmirtz placed the piece of gold in his pocket and turned, keeping his guns trained on his potential targets.. He shoved Isabella toward the hole in the floor. "I'd love to stick around, but unfortunately, I'm needed in China."

"We won't let you get away with this, Doofenshmirtz!" Ohio growled. "Eventually, we're going to get you."

Doofenshmirtz laughed again and grabbed the handle of the whip from where it was dangling. "Oh, you may think that, but, no, you won't." He swung across the gap, then waved one gun at Isabella. She stepped forward and caught the whip handle when Doofenshmirtz threw it back. Ohio started to take it from her, but Doofenshmirtz cocked one .45 and aimed it at him. Ohio handed it back to Isabella. She took hold of the whip and swung across. When she landed on the other side, Doofenshmirtz stuck the guns in his pockets. With one hand he grabbed Isabella's wrist and took the whip with the other. He shook the handle and twisted until the lashed end came free from the ceiling bracket. "In fact, you're never going to leave this tunnel." He calmly let go of the whip and let it fall into the hole. Ohio gritted his teeth in anger as he watched his bullwhip disappear down the hole. "Have a nice eternity!"

Doofenshmirtz hauled Isabella out of the tunnel back into the desert sun. He grasped the lever that had opened the tunnel in the first place and yanked it down.

"Ohio!" Isabella screamed.

The first stone slab at the mouth of the tunnel shot upward and reconnected with the ceiling, and Doofenshmirtz and Isabella disappeared from sight. Now in the pitch dark, Rhode Island quickly extracted a torch from his satchel and lit it. When they could see again, the second stone slab rose up. Then the third.

"Guys?" Django asked. "What's going to happen when the all the stones rise back up?"

They all looked down at where they were standing, which was the top of the last block. There was no where to move off of it.

"We get crushed," Ohio said glumly.

The booby-trapped stone that had fallen away to create the hole in the floor reappeared and reconnected to its ceiling brackets. Now over half of the tunnel had closed up again.

"That's kinda what I thought," Django grimaced.

There were only five slabs left to rise.

"Any ideas, Rhode Island?" Ohio asked.

Rhode Island looked around the tiny space that remained as another slab rose back to the ceiling. As the open remaining space shrank to three blocks, his eyes rested on the pedestal that the Serpent Segment had rested on. Without alerting either of the others, he grabbed the pedestal and yanked it down.

As the second to last slab rose back to the ceiling, the floor fell away. Ohio and Django screamed as they fell into nothingness.

* * *

They fell into a thin shaft which suddenly curved beneath them, and the next thing they knew they were sliding along smooth rock. After what seemed like an eternity of sliding, they were thrown out of the shaft into a large room.

Rhode Island was still clutching torch, but it had gone out during the slide. He quickly relit it. "Is everyone alright?" he asked as his face was bathed in the flickering orange light from the torch.

"Yes," Ohio answered. "Quick thinking, Rhode Island."

They picked themselves up off the floor. "Where are we?" Django asked. The explorers scanned the room. It was square, with two tall statures standing nearly to the ceiling positioned across from each other on opposite sides of a raised area where the three men stood. The middle of the raised area rose up several steps in the center to a large stone crate.

"I think we're in the Well of Souls," Ohio said. "In that stone box there is the Ark of the Covenant."

"Really? Cool!" Django exclaimed. "That's a heck of a find!"

"Maybe some other time," Ohio said. He noticed something on the ground and picked it up. "Oh, look, here's my whip. Right now we've got to figure a way out of here."

Rhode Island waved the torch around the room, the light finally illuminating a small passageway behind one of the two statues. "There." He pointed.

"Great! Let's go," Ohio called out, returning the coiled whip to his belt as he led the way into the passage, "before Doofenshmirtz escapes again!"

* * *

The end of the passageway was blocked, but after they moved a few stones and dug away a few feet of sand, they burst back into the sunlight at the base of the Great Pyramid. "Whew!" Django gasped as the sun hit him. "I always forget how hot the desert is after being underground."

They scanned the landscape, searching for some sign of Doofenshmirtz and Isabella, but they saw none. They did, however, hear a very familiar sound. It was the sound of the Jenny's engine turning over.

"Rhode Island, I think someone is stealing our plane!" Ohio shouted.

The three men tore toward the Sphinx, which blocked their view of the airplane. Before they'd even traveled half of the distance, the plane appeared, just lifting off from the sand. And even though they were quite some distance away, they could clearly see Doofenshmirtz sitting at the controls while Isabella rode in the front seat.

"I don't believe it," Ohio spat under his breath. "He got away again!"

"And he stole our ride again," Rhode Island added.

The three men watched helplessly as the Jenny banked toward the horizon and shrank into a small speck in the distance.

**Yes, I know, I left out the snakes in the Well of Souls. But, that would have gotten them stuck in there much longer and it really was just supposed to be a crossover gag, not a plot point.**

**Please review!**


	6. Chapter 5: The Tomb of Qin Shi Huang

**Qin Shi Huang's tomb has been featured in an Indiana Jones video game and an Indiana Jones novel. The way I described it here is the entrance to the tomb as shown in the video game, and the rest I incorporated a little bit from the book and made up the rest with a little help from wikipedia. I don't know anything about ancient Chinese culture, I'm writing this based on speculation from a fictional franchise. If I get something wrong, I'd love to improve it. Send me a PM and I'll do my best to make this as historically accurate as possible.**

**Also, the "lighting system" in the tomb I borrowed from ****_National Treasure 2_****.**

Chapter 5: The Tomb of Qin Shi Huang

Pushing together with all their strength, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Django slid the massive stone just far enough to fit through the circular hole in the earth underneath. Django pounded a piton into the ground and tied the end of a long rope to it. He tossed the end into the hole, where it disappeared into the dark.

"So what's the plan?" Django asked as Rhode Island lit a torch.

"We obviously beat Doofenshmirtz here," Ohio said. "I mean, how could he have gotten here first? We're the first people to ever find the entrance to this tomb."

The three men had arrived in Shanghai three days ago. They immediately headed into the mountains, poking around Mount Li for the entrance to Qin Shi Huang's tomb using clues in ancient manuscripts and maps to guide them.

The stone that blocked the entrance was about five feet in diameter and about four inches thick, sitting on top of the brick lined hole. It had been sealed with air pressure, and a small hole chiseled into the side broke the seal and allowed the three explorers to push it away.

"So," Ohio continued, "we'll go down into the tomb, find the Serpent Segment, and get out before Doofenshmirtz even shows up. If we're lucky, when he does show up, we can trap him in the tomb and rescue Isabella."

Django raised an eyebrow. "Wait, then why even bother finding the piece? Why not just wait until Doofenshmirtz shows up, rescue Isabella, and trap him in the tomb? Who cares if the segment is in there or not?"

"Because there's a good chance that there's more than one way out of this tomb. Ancient civilizations loved building secret passageways and escape roots in their unrealistically complex structures. We trap Doofenshmirtz in there with the piece, he could still find it and escape again."

Django put his hand on his chin as Rhode Island took hold of the rope, holding the torch between his teeth, and descended into the hole. "What do you mean by 'unrealistically complex'?" Django asked.

"It's a fictional story. Ancient tombs and temples are always way more complex in fiction they could ever be in real life."

"Then why are we even doing this at all?!"

"Because it would ruin the plot. Now quit breaking the fourth wall and let's go."

"You broke the fourth wall first!"

"Dude, shut up!" Ohio pointed down into the hole. "Now get down there!"

"Geez, pushy!" Django took hold of the rope and slid down into the hole. Ohio lit a torch of his own and followed.

They found themselves in a large circular room. The walls, floor and ceiling were lined with stone, and that was as much detail as they could see through the dim light of the torches. They could see, however, that there was no way out except through the hole in the ceiling and that the room was completely empty, save for a tall pedestal in the center that held a large ceramic bowl with tall curved sides.

"Uh…is this the right tomb?" Django asked.

"How many other tombs did you see in the side of the mountain?" Ohio asked sarcastically.

"None."

"Then I guess this must be the place." Ohio walked over the wall. He scanned up the side, holding his torch close. "I think there's a door here. See how all the other stones are staggered, but right here the edges line up? I think this opens." He turned back to Rhode Island and Django. "Look around. There's got to be some kind of mechanism to open it."

They scanned the room, but it was completely empty except for the pedestal in the middle. Rhode Island held his torch close to the bowl, trying to determine what was inside. There was liquid in it, and from what he could tell, the top of a pipe that ran down into the pedestal. He dipped two fingers in and held them to his nose.

"What is it, Rhode Island?" Ohio asked.

Rhode Island wiped his fingers on a handkerchief. "Oil." He calmly dipped the torch into the bowl. The oil instantly caught the flame and a bright orange light exploded into the center of the room.

There was a loud echoing sound that suggested rocks slamming together, and then a clicking noise. The part of the wall that Ohio had discovered was a door swung out, creaking on giant stone hinges.

They moved to the floor-to-ceiling doorway and looked in. A huge expansive room stretched out before them.

"Wow," they said in unison.

All along the wall, metal torches connected to the same gas supply sprang to life, illuminating the room in a flickering orange glow.

"This is absolutely incredible!" Django exclaimed as they walked slowly into the room.

"Yeah, too bad we're only here for the Serpent Segment," Ohio said. "This is the archeological find of the century!"

Massive models of the sun, earth, and moon dangled from the ceiling over a huge raised model of China in the center of the floor. Silver Mercury in the Yangtze River flowed about the map aorund a model of the Great Wall.

"You know, I've never understood why subjects would go through the trouble of building things like this for dead people," Django said. "Why not build it for people who are still alive to enjoy. You know, in places that aren't sealed off from the world."

"Well, you know, most ancient cultures believe in an afterlife, so-" Ohio started, but Django cut him off.

"Yes, I know. But still…"

Ohio headed for the other end of the room. "Come on. We've gotta find the piece of the Serpent."

They found a small doorway at the other end of the room. It lead to a long, narrow, sharply curved tunnel that descended down even further into the earth.

"Good thing I'm not claustrophobic," Django said. He froze as the tile his left foot rested on sank half an inch. The ceiling slowly began to drop.

"Feeling any more claustrophobic now?" Ohio asked.

"Getting there."

They stared at the dropping ceiling for a moment longer.

"Should we run now?" Django asked.

"I think that would be the appropriate course of action," Rhode Island said.

"Okay, just wanted to make sure."

They took off running further into the tunnel, the ceiling dropping ever further. It wasn't long before they were running hunched over. When Ohio felt the ceiling scrape the crown of his fedora and the tunnel still stretched on, he became worried. "I think we stared at the ceiling too long before we started running," he observed calmly.

"Gee, ya think?" Django practically screamed.

Ohio crouched down further, jogging awkwardly with bent knees. "You know, for a secondary character, you're awfully snippy."

The end of the tunnel suddenly was visible. The ceiling had descended far enough that the three men were forced to drop to their hands and knees. Django was the first out, and he quickly turned and grabbed Ohio's hands, hauling him out of the tunnel. Rhode Island made a quick role out, his fedora falling from his head as he did. He slid his hand back in and grabbed it just a few seconds before the ceiling connected with the floor with a grinding crash.

"The next time you guys ask me for help, remind me to say 'no'," Django panted as he caught his breath.

"I'll be happy if we live long enough for there to _be _a next time," Ohio gasped, pushing his hat back on his head to air out his red hair, which was matted with sweat.

"I think I'll live longer if I stop listening to you two," Django quipped.

Ohio frowned and stood up from where he knelt on the floor. He stepped up right in Django's face. "You know, you used to be such a nice guy-"

"So did you, and then Isabella l-"

"I KNOW WHAT SHE DID!" Ohio yelled. Django jumped and took a few steps back. Ohio hung his head. "You don't need to remind me." He wiped his eye, then looked at Django. "I'm sorry, Django. I just can't forgive myself for what I did to her." He helped Rhode Island to his feet. "Come on." He pulled his fedora back down and led the way into another narrow tunnel that led to the next room. This one was short enough that they could see where it let out. "We have an artifact to find."

They followed Ohio into the next room…and gasped.

"Holy crap!" Ohio breathed.

The room was massive, with a sunken floor except for a spidery walkway that sprouted through the depressed section. In the lowered section stood thousands of terra cotta soldiers, each sculpted with incredible realism. Each held real weapons, the metal of the swords glinting in the flickering torch light.

"This is truly incredible," Django said as they made their way out onto the walkway. "We are coming back here when this is all over, right?"

"We'll worry about that later," Ohio said. "This does somehow seem vaguely familiar, though. It seems like a room like this would be in a rather impressive fort."

Eventually, they made their way across the room and entered another short tunnel.

"If I'm right, the next room should be the crypt," Rhode Island announced.

The tunnel ended in a closed door.

"I'd say you're right," Ohio replied. "Now we just gotta figure out how to open this."

Django knelt down next to the door. "Hmm…look at this." Ohio and Rhode Island crouched down beside him. There was an oddly shaped hole in the door.

"Looks like a key hole," Ohio observed. "You know…sorta. When whatever it is that's supposed to fit this is pressed in, it unlocks the door."

"Okay, so what fits the hole?" Django asked.

There was a tiny alcove beside the door. Inside was a Chinese puzzle box. "How about this?" Ohio said. He handed it to Django, who tried to fit it into the hole.

"Not even close," he said handing it back.

Ohio turned it over. "This thing probably can be configured about a thousand different ways. Only the right configuration will fit the key hole."

Rhode Island took the puzzle box from Ohio's hand and knelt down to look at the key hole. He took a drawing compass from his satchel and adjusted it to the different widths of the hole. Then he turned looked at the puzzle box. He twisted it around until he had transformed it into a completely different shape. He pushed it into the hole and there was an audible click.

Django looked at Ohio. "How did he do that?"  
Ohio shrugged. "Since I've known Rhode Island, I've asked myself that question more times than I care to think about."

The door swung open. It was a square room about thirty by thirty, lit by torches in the walls like all the others. The length of the opposite walls were almost completely taken up by stone doors, the wooden mechanisms that raised and lowered them attached to the wall above. Unlike in rest of the tomb, the center of the ceiling in this room was supported by a row of three large pillars inscribed with line after line of Chinese calligraphy. On the rear wall were two large alcoves. In one was a large pedestal like the one that held the bowl of oil in the first room of the tomb, upon which rested the upper body segment of the Golden Serpent. The other contained a throne, and on the throne sat the embalmed body of Qin Shi Huang.

"Whoa. It's the emperor himself," Django said. They slowly walked into the room, admiring the columns. "I can't believe we're here."

"How the heck did you three escape from the Sphinx?"

They whipped around and found Doofenshmirtz standing in the doorway, once again holding one colt revolver against Isabella's temple and pointing another at the three men.

"Ohio! You're alive!" Isabella cried.

Ohio waved to her and then put his hands on his hips and glared angrily at Doofenshmirtz. "You know, for a guy who worries entirely too much about how he makes his entrance, I'm surprised you used the same one twice."

Doofenshmirtz shrugged. "It's hard to change it up when you guys beat me to my prize."

"How did you get in here anyway?" Ohio asked. "That whole tunnel is blocked."

"I don't recall any blocked tunnel."

"Yeah, that whole downward spirally tunnel, the ceiling sank all the way to the floor. It nearly crushed us."

Doofenshmirtz shook his head. "Nope."

Rhode Island spoke up. "It's possible that the builders who rigged the trap included a mechanical timing mechanism to raise the ceiling back to its original position once the trap has been tripped."

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that," Ohio said.

Doofenshmirtz nodded. "Right, like a spring-loaded gear that trips a counter weight when it reaches it's full tension."

"That sounds about right."

"Uh, guys?" Isabella said. "Can you discuss ancient architecture some other time, like when there isn't a gun pointed at my head?"

"Good idea!" Doofenshmirtz turned and pressed the gun harder against Isabella's temple. "Why don't we discuss where the booby-traps are in this room?"  
Isabella hesitated. "Uh…I don't know."

Doofenshmirtz cocked the revolver. "You'd better remember, girl!"

Isabella shrank back. "I really don't know! The manuscript was torn where it explained the protection of the segment! I swear!"

"She's telling the truth, Doofenshmirtz," Ohio said. "I've seen the manuscript. It's unreadable."

"Well then…" Doofenshmirtz dragged Isabella into the room a few steps. "Since we don't know where the traps are, _you boys_ are going to have to fetch that piece for me."

Ohio started to protest, and Doofenshmirtz's trigger finger twitched on the gun pointed at Isabella. "Fine," Ohio said. "I'll get it."

"No," Doofenshmirtz said. "Not you." He pointed the other gun at Django. "Him."

"Me?!" Django cried.

"Yes, you." Doofenshmirtz pulled back the hammer on the other gun and waved it at Django.

Django slowly walked toward the back wall and stepped into the alcove containing the pedestal. He turned back and looked at the others standing on the other side of the room. Ohio and Rhode Island tried to give him an encouraging smile, but only managed to look worried. Doofenshmirtz pushed the gun he was aiming at Django against the back of Rhode Island's head. Isabella just looked scared.

Django turned back around and looked at the little piece of gold that was the upper body of the Serpent. It shimmered in the flicking torch light. He slowly reached for it and plucked it off the pedestal.

The very instant the gold left the pedestal, there was an incredibly loud sound that echoed through the tomb.

"What was that?" Django asked loudly. The sound came again. Then again, repeating very quickly.

"It kinda sounds like…marching," Ohio said. "A lot of soldiers marching in unison."

Django was suddenly scared. He began to run back to the others when the door on the left wall slid up. Behind it stood a line of terra cotta soldiers, each holding a crossbow. And they were moving. They had come to life.

Django froze and stared at them for a moment, then took off running back toward the others. A lone terra cotta warrior raised it's crossbow and fired at Django.

The projectile tore through the back of Django's skull with a small explosion of blood. He threw up his arms as he fell to the ground, the gold piece in his hand flying through the air and bouncing to the ground a few feet from the door.

"DJANGO! NO!" Ohio yelled. The terra cotta warriors turned their attention to the four people standing near the door. They raised their weapons. Ohio looked away from his dead friend at the sound of their movement. "Move!" He cried, pushing Rhode Island behind one of the pillars as the soldiers fired.

Doofenshmirtz dragged Isabella toward the door, stopping just momentarily to pick up the Serpent Segment from where it lay on the floor. "Good luck getting out of this one!" he yelled, and pulled Isabella out the door just as an unseen force slammed the door shut.

Ohio and Rhode Island listened as the arrows from the crossbows smashed into the other side of the pillar they hid behind. Ohio peeked around the column at the huge stone door, examining the wooden mechanism that held it open. He ducked back as they fired again.

"I have an idea how to stop them," Ohio said. "But I need a distraction."

Rhode Island nodded. He took a running stance and darted out from behind the pillar, heading for the next one in the row about ten feet away. The warriors turned and fired at him. He dove for the ground and slid behind the pillar, the arrows whizzing over his head.

Meanwhile, Ohio ran out from behind the pillar, too. He ran for the edge of the door, pulling the bullwhip from his belt as he did. He flipped the whip at the wooden mechanism for holding open the door, the end wrapping around a spindle. He pulled on the whip with all his might and the spindle came loose. The entire wooden mechanism collapsed and the door fell with a crash, crushing the line of terra cotta soldiers.

The relief was short lived as the door on the other side of the room opened. Unlike the soldiers with crossbows who just stood in the doorway, these sword wielding warriors rushed into the room.

The first one within ten feet of Ohio quickly lost his sword, as Ohio flung the bullwhip at the blade. The leather wrapped around the lower part of the blade and Ohio hauled back on the whip. The sword flew from the terra cotta soldier's hand. Ohio quickly reeled in the whip and grabbed the hilt of the sword. He pulled the whip off and ran at the warrior, swinging the blade with all his strength. Rather than slice through, the blade smashed a chunk out of the soldiers chest cavity.

The soldier looked rather unimpressed and reached out to grab his sword back. Ohio quickly back stepped and grabbed his whip off the floor. He snapped it around the legs of the warrior and pulled. The terra cotta man fell backwards and shattered against the floor.

The warriors went after Rhode Island, too. The adventurer ducked and leaned backwards to avoid the sword strokes, but the parries were coming ever closer.

"Rhode Island!" Ohio yelled. He threw the sword through the air and Rhode Island caught it.

Rhode Island brought the blade against his attacker's and they locked together. He bore his weight against the soldier's blade and kicked out with his legs. The terra cotta leg broke off and the soldier fell to the ground, shattering like his companion.

Ohio rushed to Rhode Island's side, dodging attacks from the multitude of warriors that swarmed the room and nearly tripping over Django's corpse. "We aren't gonna last very long in here! We have to find a way out!" He picked up the sword that had belonged to the soldier Ferb had defeated and quickly blocked an attack on his left.

Rhode Island nodded toward the body of Qin Shi Huang.

"Good thinking!"

They made their way slowly over to the throne walking back to back, blocking attacks from terra cotta soldiers the whole way. When they finally reached the alcove, Rhode Island guarded Ohio, being protected on three sides by the alcove, while Ohio searched for a way out.

Ohio couldn't see anything interesting about the walls. There was no secret passages in the stone. Then he looked up. A tall stone-lined shaft stretched up directly above the throne beyond the reaches of the light.

"There's a shaft up through the mountain!" Ohio yelled over the sound of battle. He looked at the throne. It had to rise up the shaft somehow.

"Hurry up!" Rhode Island yelled. He was blocking attacks as fast as he could, but he was nearly overwhelmed.

Ohio inspected the arm rest of the throne, gently moving Emperor Huang's hand out of the way. The arm rest itself was a lever.

"Sorry, your highness," Ohio said. He grabbed the Emperor's body and flung it off the throne. The corpse nearly disintegrated when it hit the floor. "Rhode Island, quick! Sit on the throne!"

Rhode Island was confused, but he backed up until he was just in front of the throne, continuously blocking attacks from the terra cotta warriors. Ohio sat down and jerked up the arm rest. The throne slowly started to rise on a column that extended up from the floor. They had no way of knowing, but the arm rest released a gate holding back water in an underground reservoir. The water rushed down a pipe under the column and forced it up, causing the throne to rise.

Rhode Island slammed himself backwards next to Ohio, blocking a few more attacks from the terra cotta soldiers before the throne rose up into the shaft.

About a minute later, light suddenly shone down onto the two adventurers. A hidden door at the top of the mountain above them had opened, and sunlight poured in.

The throne extended up out of the hole, thrusting Ohio and Rhode Island back onto the mountain. They slowly climbed down off the throne. Neither said a word.

Rhode Island placed the sword on the seat, and a moment later, the throne descended back into the mountain. The door, covered with moss, closed, and it was impossible to tell where the door had been.

Ohio and Rhode Island looked at each other solemnly. They heard the sound of an engine and scanned the sky. At the base of the mountain, their biplane, piloted by Doofenshmirtz, rose up into the air.

Ohio realized he was still holding his bullwhip. He coiled it neatly and returned it to his belt. "Django…" he spluttered.

A tear slipped down Rhode Island's cheek as the reality of Django's death hit him. Ohio clenched his fists and turned to watch the biplane disappear over the horizon.

"Now this is personal," Ohio breathed.

"Wasn't it already personal?" Rhode Island asked. "Being how he kidnapped Isabella?"

"Right." Ohio turned back and locked eyes with Rhode Island. "Now it's twice as personal."


	7. Chapter 6: Istanbul Fisticuffs

Chapter 6: Istanbul Fisticuffs

Ohio and Rhode Island wound their way through the crowded streets of the giant and somewhat primitive city of Istanbul.

"Any idea where the Segment is hidden here?" Rhode Island asked.

"I could take a pretty good guess," Ohio said. "Yılan Mağara Mosque."

"'The Serpent's Den Mosque,'" Rhode Island loosely translated. "I'd say that's a pretty safe bet." They pushed their way past a man selling cantaloupes from a wooden cart. "What do we do when we get there?"

"Well, Doofenshmirtz almost definitely beat us here since, you know, he had a plane and we had a combination of trains, boats and even a few miles on camel back. Hopefully, since our timing has been nearly impeccable at the last three hiding places, our paths will cross at the mosque."

"And then what?"  
Ohio didn't answer right away. "I haven't quite figured that out yet. I'll let you know when I do."

"Making it up as you go, eh?"

"Just like always. And what's with you? You never talk this much."

Rhode Island shrugged.

They turned a corner down a narrow ally and followed it down a few blocks. Eventually, they ended up in a much less crowded part of the city, not far from the outskirts. Turning onto the main road, they headed down a few more blocks, and eventually, the road turned 90 degrees. On the corner, directly in front of them, was the Yılan Mağara Mosque.

Ohio pointed to a dark blue flatbed truck parked in front of the Mosque. "Does that truck look slightly familiar?"

Rhode Island shrugged again. They finally reached the steps leading into the Mosque. They were just beginning to climb the stairs when Doofenshmirtz and Isabella came out the entrance. Doofenshmirtz was holding a small golden snake head in his hand and laughing with triumph. Both parties froze when they caught sight of each other.

Doofenshmirtz quickly shoved the Head Segment of the Serpent into his pocket. Then he grabbed Isabella's arm and towed her over to the side stairs, which were closer to the blue truck. "How the heck do you two keep surviving?" he yelled as he ran.

Ohio and Rhode Island bolted back down the stairs and toward the truck, but it was too late. Doofenshmirtz had already shoved Isabella into the cab, climbed in himself and started the engine. He shifted into first gear and accelerated away.

"No! I'm not letting him escape again!" Ohio yelled, and poured on the speed. It didn't take long to realize that chasing the truck on foot was impossible.

As the blue truck turned a corner and disappeared from sight, Ohio spotted an American-made Powerplus Indian motorcycle leaning against a stone wall. Without a moment's hesitation, he stood it up and swung his leg over the saddle tank.

"Ohio, wait!" Rhode Island yelled.

Ohio ignored him. He kicked the starter and twisted the accelerator. The motorcycle shot forward, nearly throwing him from the seat from the quick start. Rhode Island watched him disappear around the corner, following the truck.

Ohio kept the motor going full blast and soon caught sight of the truck. He reached up just briefly and pulled his fedora down tight on his head, and then leaned forward to decrease wind resistance. He slalomed around a few street vendors and soon caught up to the truck.

Once he had lost sight of Ohio and Rhode Island, Doofenshmirtz had let his speed decrease to more easily navigate through the streets. When he suddenly caught sight of Ohio on the motorcycle in his rearview mirror, he scowled.

"Does this guy ever give up?" Doofenshmirtz groaned.

"No, no he does not," Isabella said matter-of-factly.

Doofenshmirtz was about to slap her across the face, but he then realized that Ohio was beginning to pull even with the truck. He slammed the gas pedal to the floor and the truck sped up, but the motorcycle was still faster.

Ohio would have been even with the driver's door in a few more seconds, had there not been a Turk selling British rifles from the Great War directly in his path. Ohio gripped the hand brake and the bike nearly slid out from under him as the wheels locked up, but he remained upright, steered around the vendor, and accelerated again. The truck had pulled back ahead, and Ohio gave chase.

Several more close calls with pedestrians and hand carts latter, they reached the Istanbul city limits. As they passed through a small village, Ohio pulled out and looked ahead of the truck, which still held a small lead on the motorcycle. Ahead, the road curved to the right.

Ohio saw an opportunity and took it. A tall embankment rose up along side the right side of the road and he steered the bike up a walking path to the top, the 18 horsepower motor whining in protest. Ahead, the truck turned and followed the road. Ohio judged it's speed and approximated where it would be in a few seconds, angling the motorcycle toward that spot.

The embankment ended when the road crossed it. Ohio pulled back on the handlebars and the Indian launched off the embankment. The motorcycle fell to earth quickly as Ohio let go. He sailed through the air wind-milling his arms, and crashed down hard on the bed of the truck. His momentum caused him to roll, and he slid right off the edge of the bed.

Ohio scrambled for a handhold and gripped the side of the flatbed, managing to swing his feet onto the gas tank beneath. He pushed up with his feet and managed to haul himself up onto the bed of the truck.

Doofenshmirtz heard the metal echo as Ohio landed on the bed and looked in the mirror just in time to watch Ohio pull himself back up. "You have _got _to be kidding. Norm, take over, and don't let her escape."

"I'm on it, sir!" the truck replied. The Isabella's seatbelt suddenly tightened until she could not move.

"Oh, now I know why the truck looked familiar," Ohio said to himself.

As Norm/truck continued on at high speed, the back window slid open and Doofenshmirtz climbed out, one of his colt .45's trained on Ohio. "You know, kid-"

Before Doofenshmirtz could finish his monologue, Ohio yanked the bullwhip from his belt and cracked it at Doofenshmirtz's hand. Doofenshmirtz cried out in pain as the lash split the skin on the back of his hand and he dropped the revolver. It bounced once on the truck bed and disappeared over the side.

The element of surprise was Doofenshmirtz's now. Before Ohio could make another move, he lunged forward, tackling Ohio to the truck bed. Ohio dropped the bullwhip and tried to get his arms around the madman's neck, but he couldn't, as Doofenshmirtz rolled toward the side of the truck. He kicked at Ohio's legs and torso, and Ohio slid off the side.

But this time, Ohio knew how to hold onto the truck. He immediately positioned his feet against the gas tank and grabbed the side of the bed. With his free hand, he grabbed Doofenshmirtz's arm. Pushing with his feet for leverage, Ohio tried to pull Doofenshmirtz off the truck bed.

Doofenshmirtz retaliated by twisting around and punching Ohio in the face. Ohio's head jerked backwards and he lost his grip on the side of the truck, but he managed to hold onto Doofenshmirtz's arm.

Doofenshmirtz rolled back toward the center of the bed, unintentionally pulling Ohio back up enough for the adventurer to gain a handhold and pull himself back onto the truck bed.

The opponents both climbed back to their feet as the truck continued to race down the dusty road. Doofenshmirtz threw a right hook at Ohio, who ducked. Ohio lunged with an uppercut to Doofenshmirtz's chin and connected. The madman grunted and stumbled backwards a step. Ohio prepared to throw another punch, and was surprised at how quickly his opponent recovered when Doofenshmirtz caught his punch and twisted his arm.

"Augh!" Ohio cried in pain. Doofenshmirtz shoved Ohio backwards into the truck cab and the explorer sank to his knees.

Doofenshmirtz picked up the bullwhip from where it lay on the bed. He stepped forward and made to wrap it around Ohio's neck, but Ohio kicked out with his right leg and caught him in the groin. As Doofenshmirtz stumbled backwards, Ohio staggered to his feet. He stepped forward, using the motion to add momentum to his punch. He connected with Doofenshmirtz's rather pointy nose.

Doofenshmirtz stumbled back again, now right on the rear edge of the truck bed. Still clutching the bullwhip in his balled fists, he wound up for another right hook, and Ohio blocked it with a raised arm. But the adventurer couldn't avoid the lightning fast left. Doofenshmirtz's rather bony fist smashed into Ohio's nose, and the adventurer could feel something break. Blood began to trickle down his face.

He ducked from another right, and once again, Doofenshmirtz caught him with his left, this time an uppercut to the gut, knocking the breath from Ohio's lungs.

With Ohio doubled over in pain, Doofenshmirtz threw the hardest right that he could, stepping forward to power it, and connected solidly with Ohio's face. Ohio stumbled backwards and once again hit the cab of the truck, this time using it to keep from falling.

Doofenshmirtz took this opportunity to draw his second colt revolver from his pocket. When Ohio saw the gun, his instincts took over. He rushed Doofenshmirtz, tackling him to the truck bed like Doofenshmirtz had done to him. Doofenshmirtz's head now hung off the back of the truck. Ohio punched him in the face, and the madman's head jerked backwards. He grabbed Doofenshmirtz's gun arm and smashed it against the corner of the bed until the gun slipped from its owner's hand. Then Ohio grabbed his whip, which Doofenshmirtz still held in his other hand.

Doofenshmirtz rolled sideways and Ohio fell off him, still clutching the bullwhip. He lashed out with his feet and caught Ohio in the chest, and the adventurer fell from the truck bed. The whip slid from Doofenshmirtz's grasp as Ohio fell to the ground.

Doofenshmirtz watched as Ohio hit the dirt and rolled, his fedora flying off his head. Doofenshmirtz gritted his teeth and climbed back into the truck through the back window and once again took control of Norm/truck.

Ohio landed sprawled out on his back, still clutching the bullwhip in his right hand, gasping for air. Blood poured from his broken nose and everything ached, but his stomach hurt the worst. His unzipped leather jacket and satchel strap had become twisted and tangled around him when he rolled on the ground.

His eyes closed, he listened to the sound of the truck's engine quickly fade away. He had failed to stop Doofenshmirtz yet again.

Ohio lay there in the middle of the road until something landed lightly on his chest. He opened his eyes. It was his fedora. He looked up and found Rhode Island standing there, looking down at him, and a sleek brown stallion standing quietly behind him. Rhode Island said nothing. He just stared down at Ohio, a concerned look on his face.

Ohio gently picked up his fedora with the hand that clutched the whip and held out his free hand to Rhode Island, who took it and pulled his friend up off the ground. Ohio stumbled, feeling dizzy, and collapsed onto a large rock beside the road.

He looked at his hat in his hands, his eyes growing moist. "I failed, Ferb. I failed."

Rhode Island said nothing about the use of his real name and stepped in front of Ohio, looking down at him.

"I failed to stop Doofenshmirtz. I failed to save the world. And worst of all, I failed to save Isabella." He stared at the old worn hat for a moment longer. "This hat should belong to a hero. I don't deserve to wear it." He flung it away. It landed upside-down in the road.

Rhode Island put his hand on Ohio's shoulder. "Heroes don't give up," he said, "And neither do you." Ohio looked up at him. "We can still save the world and Isabella. Doofenshmirtz still has to get to the North Pole and actually _find_ it. We can still beat him."

Ohio blinked and wiped his eyes. He stared at Rhode Island for a moment. "You're right."

"I know I am, you don't need to tell me."

Ohio stood up and wiped the blood from his mouth and nose, then straightened his jacket. "We have to get to the North Pole before he does and be prepared to do whatever it takes to stop him from sacrificing Isabella and joining the segments of the Serpent." He slowly began to pace, thinking hard. "Doofenshmirtz won't be able to get all the way to the pole in that airplane. It doesn't have the range. He can get as far as Greenland and may be able to sail some distance by sea, but it'll take him fairly long and he'll probably end up hiking some distance through the snow. We need a way to outrun him." Ohio whipped around and snapped his fingers. "I've got it!"

Ohio coiled the whip and returned it to his belt. Then he snatched up his fedora from the ground and dusted it off. He hurried over to the horse and climbed on. "Come on, Rhode Island. I can't do this alone."

Ohio pulled Rhode Island up onto the stallion and took hold of the reins. "Where are we going?" Rhode Island asked.

Ohio pushed the fedora back onto his head and grinned slyly at Rhode Island from beneath the brim. "Germany." Then he snapped the reins and the horse took off.

**So…anyone want to take a guess why they're going to Germany?**

**I am getting so tired of writing out "Rhode Island" and I keep accidentally writing "Rhode Isabella" and having to correct it. Why couldn't they have picked a shorter state, or at least one that's all one word?**


	8. Chapter 7: SL7

**This chapter was going to be much shorter, but I had so much fun writing the fight scene in the last chapter and then I watched the flying wing scene and desert chase scene from ****_Raiders of the Lost Ark_**** and I was like "I am so adding another fight." So…here you go! Hope you like this!**

Chapter 7: SL7

Hats pulled low over their eyes, hands in their jacket pockets, Ohio Flynn and Rhode Island Fletcher walked across the Berlin Airfield. They had a specific destination in mind: a large hanger on the far end of the property. They spoke not a word, they did not look at each other, trying to act like they belonged there.

When they reached the hanger, Ohio pushed open a side door and they walked through a small machine shop, and then into the main hanger. Taking up the entire length of the hanger was a massive airship, a zeppelin, of the SL7 class. It stretched 532 feet long and was 65 feet in diameter. Four engines, each on its own gondola, hung beneath the torpedo-shaped gray colored envelope. The propellers were more than twice as tall as Rhode Island. In the center was the cockpit, also contained in a gondola.

"You were right, Ohio," Rhode Island said.

"Yup. I knew the German army had to be keeping a few secrets from the Allies."

The SL7 was supposedly decommissioned two years ago, and while she hadn't been spotted in the air, there had been rumors that it was still hanging around somewhere, hidden away.

"And what better place to hide it than a commercial airport?" Rhode Island said.

"Yeah. Who would think to look for military equipment here? In plain sight?"

They walked underneath the giant airship. The gas bladders were filled with hydrogen, ready for the ship to lift off. It was tied down to massive eyebolts in the concrete floor. A small step ladder led into the cockpit.

"So…" Rhode Island began, "we steal this airship and fly it all the way to the pole. Since it won't be carrying any cargo or bombs, we can fill that space with extra fuel, and we can make it to the North Pole in one shot, non-stop, and beat Doofenshmirtz there."

"Exactly. And we aren't _stealing_ it. We're just…borrowing it."

Rhode Island narrowed his glance. "Are we going to bring it back?"  
"No. Why would we? Germany isn't supposed to have this thing anyway."

"Then we're stealing it."

"We're not stealing it, we're just…" Rhode Island folded his arms and glared at Ohio. "Okay, fine, we're stealing it. Happy?"

"No. I see a major flaw in your plan."

Ohio sighed. "Yeah? What?"

"We have to get this thing out of the hanger in order to take off. That takes at least two dozen people. There's two of us. And even if we can get it out into the field, I think the traffic controllers are going to notice a giant zeppelin that wasn't there before. They'll shoot us down before we can even take off! How exactly do you plan on dealing with that?"

Ohio cupped his chin in his hand. "I haven't quite worked that out yet. But I _do_ know how to get this thing out of the hanger." He pointed to the rear end of the hanger. Two large farm trucks, equipped with side rails on the beds, were parked against the rear wall.

Rhode Island smiled. "Yeah, that'll work."

"First, though, we gotta load extra fuel."

"Right."

* * *

They each started one truck. Each truck had been tied to one of the lines leading from just under the nose. They each ran to the giant sliding hanger doors and pushed against the handles with all their strength. The doors did not slide easily and both men were exhausted by the time the doors were wide enough for the zeppelin to slide through.

Ignoring their pounding hearts, they quickly ran back to the trucks. Any second now someone would notice that the hanger doors were open. Shifting the trucks into first gear, Ohio yelled, "Ready?"

Rhode Island nodded in reply. They both let off the brakes and slowly pushed the accelerators to the floor. The trucks grunted, straining against their heavy load, but if a few dozen men could pull the zeppelin out by hand, surely the trucks could.

The tires spun but eventually found grip. The trucks slowly moved forward, and the floating zeppelin, untied from it's moorings, slowly moved forward.

* * *

When the tail assembly had cleared the door, the two trucks stopped. Ohio and Rhode Island jumped out and ran to each other.

"There's gonna be some very angry people here in, oh, I'd say about thirty seconds," Ohio said. "Get in the cockpit and start the engines. I'll cut the lines. As soon as the zep's free, go. Don't wait for me."

Rhode Island nodded in understanding and ran to the control gondola. Ohio ran back to one of the trucks, pulling a large knife from his satchel. As he hopped up onto the bed, he noticed three men running across the field from the airport building.

"Oh, boy." Ohio grabbed the line and began sawing away at it with the knife. He was about halfway done when he heard someone yelling right behind him. Ohio spun around and found a mechanic waving a large wrench standing right behind the truck.

_I don't have time to explain,_ Ohio thought with a groan. _Sorry about this, buddy._ Ohio dropped the knife and stepped forward slowly while the man yelled at him in German.

The man let down his guard when Ohio dropped the knife, and was not expecting the boot to the face.

Ohio kicked the man in the forehead, hopping to knock him out, but the man stood back up. Ohio jumped down from the truck bed and swung his fist at the man's face, but the mechanic leaned backward and avoided the swing. He swung the wrench at Ohio and hit the adventurer on the upper shoulder. Ohio grimaced and threw a hard right hook to the man's temple. The mechanic spun around from the hard hit and fell to the ground, unconscious.

Ohio quickly looked over his shoulder. The three men had almost reached the trucks, all of them waving their arms and yelling at him in German. He quickly jumped back up onto the truck and grabbed up the knife. A few more strokes across the rope and the remaining strands snapped from the tension.

Ohio slid the knife through his belt loop and practically leapt off the back of the truck again, running full tilt for the other one. The three men met him in the middle.

He swung his fist through the air and connected with the cheek of the first man he met, knocking him out, and tried to hit the next one as the first fell to the ground. But the time it took for Ohio to wind up his punch, the man had time to react, and turned away as Ohio struck. The blow deflected, he back handed Ohio across the face. As Ohio reeled from the strike, the third man punched him from behind.

Ohio briefly saw stars and fell to the ground. He quickly rolled over and saw a heavy work boot flying toward his head. Ohio lifted his head so that the blow just scrapped his cheek, then scrambled to his feet, running for the truck. The two men still standing gave chase.

As Ohio climbed onto the back of the other truck, the bigger of the two men grabbed him from behind and tried to pull him back. Ohio elbowed him in the nose as hard as he could, which was not very hard at all from this awkward angle. The man threw him away, and Ohio stumbled, but remained upright.

Behind them, there was a loud grunt and then a whirring sound, progressively growing louder. One by one, the four huge engines started, and the engines droned at idle speed.

Instead of attacking the bigger man who had thrown him away from the truck, Ohio caught the smaller man by surprise, throwing a hard uppercut to that man's chin. The man's head jerked backward and he fell to the ground, finally having been knocked unconscious.

Then Ohio turned to deal with the other man. This man was much bigger than Ohio, nearly twice as tall and very muscular. He decked Ohio, and the archeologist fell to the ground again. Thinking fast, Ohio kicked at the man's groin, the only place that he could reach from the ground. The man flinched, but didn't collapse in pain as Ohio had expected him to. Instead, he lashed out with his own foot.

Ohio quickly rolled out of the way. Seeing an alternative to fighting this man, he pulled himself to his feet holding onto the back bumper of the truck. Balling his fist again, he threw a hard punch square into the man's nose, hoping to slow him down. The man's head jerked back just a bit, and he reached out to grab Ohio's arm. Ohio put both hands on the truck bed and pushed, lifting his legs off the ground. He kicked out with both legs and caught the man in the rib cage. His opponent staggered backward, struggling to remain upright.

While the man stumbled, Ohio climbed up onto the truck bed. He pulled the knife from his belt and quickly started hacking at the thick rope tied to the side rail.

The rope was halfway severed when the big man climbed up onto the truck. Ohio braced himself against the back of the truck cab and kicked out with both legs again. The man stumbled backwards and it looked like he was going to regain his balance, and then he took an extra half step back…and found only air. He tumbled off the back of the truck, landing hard on his back.

Ohio took the opportunity to continue sawing away at the rope. It snapped when there were still a few strands left.

The big man climbed back up onto the back of the truck once again, blocking Ohio's rout to the gondola cockpit. The pitch of the engines' roar increased. Rhode Island was throttling up, obeying Ohio's instructions not to wait for him.

Ohio thought fast. He couldn't get to the cockpit, that was out of the question. Inspiration struck as the big man advanced. Ohio jumped up onto the top of the truck's cab, avoiding the attack, and jumped, grabbing the mooring line that stretched up to the zeppelin's belly. He let go with one hand for just a second to secure his fedora tightly to his head, put the knife blade between his teeth, and then began to climb hand over hand up the rope as the airship began to move forward and rise.

Then the rope suddenly flailed and Ohio looked down. The big man had somehow managed to grab hold of the end of the rope and was climbing up after Ohio.

"This guy is persistent," Ohio muttered.

The zeppelin was gliding forward through the air at 45 knots, about half its maximum speed. The rope was beginning to sway dangerously, but both men hung on. Ohio stopped climbing and closed his eyes. The altitude and movement of the rope combined with the recent trauma to the head from two fist fights was making him feel nauseous.

Then something grabbed his leg, and he opened his eyes to find exactly what he expected. The man had hold of his ankle. Ohio shook his leg around hard, trying to break the man's grip. When the man didn't let go, he resorted to trying to kick his opponent's head.

The man's grasp finally slackened enough for Ohio to break free. Ohio quickly started climbing again, fighting the wind and nausea. He reached the belly of the zeppelin, the wind's velocity banging him against it. He frantically grabbed for his hat as the banging threatened to dislodge it.

Looking back, his fears that the man from the airport had climbed after him was confirmed. _I gotta do something…fast!_ Ohio pulled the knife from his teeth and jammed it into the skin of the airship. He slid the knife down until the knife hit one of the steel ribs that gave the zeppelin its shape.

The man grabbed his ankle again and shook. Ohio kicked the man again, repeatedly, until his assailant lost his hold on his leg. Then Ohio grabbed the partially exposed steel rib, letting go of the rope entirely. When he had wrapped an arm around it, he began to hack away at the mooring line.

The man shouted something, a pleading look on his face, but Ohio could not hear him over the wind.

The rope broke. Ohio watched as the man who had so doggedly pursued him plummeted to earth…and then opened his parachute and floated gently to the ground.

"Good thing that guy just happened to have a parachute on under his jacket," Ohio said to himself. He pulled himself up onto the rib of the frame. Balancing on it carefully, he walked along it until he reached a metal walkway in the center. Around him were the cells which contained the nitrogen gas. When he finally reached the catwalk, he collapsed to the floor, panting hard for breath.

He could feel the zeppelin turning beneath him. It was turning north.

The hatch in the ceiling opened and Rhode Island turned just in time to see Ohio stagger in to the cockpit. "Are you aware that your nose is bleeding again?" Rhode Island asked.

"Oh, is it?" Ohio touched a finger to his upper lip, and sure enough, it came away red with blood. "How about that." He walked over to Rhode Island, wiping his nose on a handkerchief. "Give this balloon everything it's got. Full power all the way. I'll navigate."

Rhode Island nodded and turned back to the forward windshield as Ohio stood at the chart table. Rhode Island squinted when something appeared in the distance. "Ohio?"

"Yes?"

"Have you given any thought as to how you are going to keep what is left of the German army, and probably the Allies, too, from blowing us out of the sky?"

Ohio hurried over and looked out the window. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me."

**So…yeah, their adventure in Germany is not over yet.**

**Shoot me a review if you have the time.**


	9. Chapter 8: Aerobatics

Chapter 8: Aerobatics

"Man, we just can't catch a break today," Ohio grumbled.

Flying at them head-on were two fighter planes, British F2b's. Each armed with one 7.7mm forward machine gun and a double .303 swiveling tail gun, the "Brisfits" were more than capable of blowing the zeppelin out of the sky.

"I'll take care of this," Ohio muttered, starting to head up the ladder into the belly of the airship.

"What exactly are you going to do?" Rhode Island asked.

"This thing has machine guns up on top."

"You can't shoot them down! They're British planes!" Rhode Island considered what he had just said. "Actually, you couldn't shoot them down if they were German planes either. The war's over."

"Who said I was going to shoot them down?"

Rhode Island raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, I'm only gonna kinda shoot 'em down."

"Explain to me how you 'kind of' shoot down planes."

Ohio looked out the front windshield again. The planes were nearly within firing range. "I'll tell you latter."

He scrambled up the ladder and closed the hatch behind him. Rhode Island looked back out the windshield. The F2b's were nearly on top of them. If their bullets pierced the nitrogen cells, the zeppelin could catch fire. It would be gone in seconds.

Ohio ran along the catwalk and scaled one of two ladders. At the top was another hatch. He pushed it open and climbed out onto the top of the zeppelin, tightening down his fedora against the wind.

There were two double barrel machine guns attached to the tops of the structural ribs of the airship. Ohio ran along a small catwalk to the closest one. _I just need to force them to land._

The planes finally reached the zeppelin. Ohio flattened himself against the catwalk, hoping that the pilots and tail gunners wouldn't see him. They did a fly-by, circling the zeppelin, looking for signs of hostility.

Ohio rose to his knees, trying to get a better view of the two biplanes. "Where'd they go?" He couldn't see them anymore. Over the wind and the drone of the four engines, he heard the buzz of the F2b's above him. Ohio looked up. "Uh-oh."

The biplanes were throttled back low, dropping slowly over the zeppelin, trying to force the airship down. Ohio ducked, even though the planes weren't really anywhere near him. He held onto his fedora to keep it from blowing off. When the planes had passed and were circling around for another pass, Ohio stood up and grabbed hold of the machine gun. "Sorry about this, but we don't have time to play around."

The gun clicked as Ohio pulled back the release catch and the first round entered the chamber. When the planes came back around, they immediately caught sight of Ohio aiming a machine gun at them and they opened fire.

"YAAA!" Ohio cried, diving for the deck again as bullets tore past his head. A few tore through the thin skin of the zeppelin. "Oh, boy."

The planes shot overhead. Ohio stood back up-

-and completely forgot about the tail gunners. He dove in through the hatch to avoid the hail of bullets just as the machine gun was ripped from it's mount and toppled over the side of the zeppelin.

"Okay, I did not think that through very well," Ohio said to himself. He scrambled down the ladder and ran along the catwalk to the other one. He clambered carefully back up and peered out the hatch. The two biplanes were circling around low again. "Okay, here we go."

Ohio removed his fedora and dropped it down inside the belly of the zeppelin so he wouldn't lose it. Then he darted out and ran to the second machine gun. He loaded the chamber and spun it around to take aim at the first plane.

The biplane spat lead at him, but Ohio didn't flinch. He took careful aim, tracking the plane across the sky. He pulled the trigger. The bullets tore across the sky and shredded through the lower left wing of the plane.

The plane dipped to the left, and the pilot pulled back hard on the controls, struggling to balance the plane out. As Ohio scanned the sky for the other plane, the damaged F2b slowly sank to the ground, the tail gunner firing back at the zep but failing to find his mark as the plane bobbed left and right.

Ohio could not spot the other biplane. It had seemingly disappeared yet again.

Then Ohio heard a machine gun chattering. The sound was coming from below him. "Crud!"

He dove through the hatch.

* * *

The control yoke shook in Rhode Island's hands. He spun around and looked out the rear window. The second biplane was firing at the rear port engine. As the plane passed, the engine clanked and sputtered from the damage, threatening to stall. Now out of balance, the rear of the zeppelin began to sink. Rhode Island fought the controls hard and tried to balance out the airship by decreasing the power in the front starboard engine.

Ohio dropped into the gondola a few seconds later, his fedora back on top of his head. He ran up to Rhode Island. "We've got a big problem," he said. Rhode Island pointed over his shoulder at the rear window, where the rear port engine could be seen trailing a cloud of white smoke. "Oh. You know that already."

Ohio scrambled around the cockpit, looking under the control panel and behind the seats. Rhode Island watched with interest. They heard the sound of the remaining F2b, which had circled back around behind the airship and was about to make a second pass at the damaged engine.

"Rhode Island, can you buy us some time?" Ohio yelled as he looked inside a chest bolted to the floor.

Rhode Island saw how the plane was lining up to fire. He had an idea. He grabbed the throttles and yanked them back, almost to the point of stalling, and shoved the controls hard to the left. The plane shot past as the zep's airspeed dropped. Rhode Island throttled up again.

"Ah ha!" Ohio had pulled open a cabinet on the back wall. Inside was a pistol. He quickly shoved cartridges into the empty chambers and snapped the gun shut. He looked out the window. The F2b was lining up for another pass at the engine. Rhode Island grabbed the throttles again. "No, don't!"

"What?"

"Just hold the thing steady!" Ohio looked for a way to open the window, but it was fixed. "Oh well." Turning his face away, Ohio swung the pistol at the glass with all the strength he could muster. The window pane shattered. Ohio pointed the gun out the window at the plane and closed one eye as he aimed the barrel at the biplane's engine.

As the biplane fired, Ohio pulled the trigger. The bullet struck the side of one of the propeller blades and the plane bobbled. The gunner stopped firing as the bullets went wild.

"Rhode Island, hard right rudder!"

Rhode Island yanked the controls to the right and the zep turned. From this new angle, Ohio could see the fuel tank. The pistol roared again and a hole appeared in the side of the plane, fuel streaming out of it. A few seconds later, the biplane turned away, dropping to the ground.

Ohio sank to the floor. "Whew. Rhode Island, get us out of here."

Rhode Island nodded and gave the undamaged engines full power, steering north.

**Should only be one or two chapters left. Please review!**


	10. Chapter 9: Magnetic North

Chapter 9: Magnetic North

They remained trapped in the gondola for most of the trip, the wind whistling through the holes in the canvas making the balloon too cold to inhabit. Not long after crossing 75 degrees north latitude, the zeppelin's compass began to spin randomly.

"We're too far north for the compass to work. The whole place is one big magnet," Rhode Island said.

Ohio looked up from his charts. "Yup. We're navigating by the sun and stars, now. Not that the sun will be much help because this time of year it's visible for about half an hour."

"Eh…stars are more accurate, anyway."

* * *

Unable to find anything to anchor the airship to in the vast snowy wasteland, Ohio climbed into the freezing belly of the zeppelin with a toolbox. Rhode Island carefully watched the altimeter as he coaxed the airship lower in the sky while Ohio unbolted the damaged port engine. It dropped down into the snow with a much less dramatic crash than one might imagine.

Without the proper cold-weather gear, the two adventurers scrounged around the cockpit for anything that might give them some protection against the cold. They found a few pairs of leather flying gloves that offered little insulation and a pilot's cap with earflaps.

"Here, Rhode Island, you take the cap. You've got bigger ears than I do, anyway."

Rhode Island snorted in annoyance but said nothing as he held the airship steady about 75 feet off the ground directly above where the engine had landed in the snow. Ohio once again climbed into the body of the airship and found the hole in the nose where he had climbed in. Knowing the rope on this side was gone, he traced his way to the opposite side of the catwalk and cut another hole into the canvas.

"Oh, boy. Why do I seem to spend more time on the outside of vehicles than riding in them?"

Ohio took great care climbing out of the zeppelin and took hold of the remaining mooring line. The cold outside was even worse with the wind chill. He carefully climbed down the heavy rope and tied it around the engine lying in the snow. When it was secure, he waved up to Rhode Island.

A few moments later, the three remaining engines slowed to minimum power. They couldn't be shut down or they would freeze and never restart. A couple more minutes passed and Rhode Island climbed down the rope, too, wearing the pilot's cap instead of his fedora.

"I sure hope this engine is heavy enough to keep the wind from pushing the zep," Ohio called over the constant wind. "If she blows away, it's gonna be another really long walk home." They both laughed nervously, both knowing very well that thy would never survive walking across the frozen sea with no supplies and inadequate protection from the cold.

Rhode Island removed a chart from inside his leather jacket. He pointed to some marks he had made while Ohio took hold of one side of the map to help keep it from flapping in the wind. "By my calculations, we should be here. Now if we just…" While Rhode Island spelled out his plan for finding the exact point where magnetic north lay, Ohio could not shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

Rhode Island folded up the map and returned it to his breast pocket. Then he removed a sextant from his outer pocket and raised it to his eye as he began walking. Ohio shoved his gloved hands in his pocket and followed.

* * *

They walked around in circles for about twenty minutes before Rhode Island abruptly stopped. "We're here."

Ohio looked around. It didn't look any different than the surrounding area, but he didn't really expect it to. "I'll take your word for it. Well, we definitely beat Doofenshmirtz here. Now we just have to ambush him when he shows up."

"How exactly do we do that?"

"Well, I still have this gun from the zep." Ohio held it up. "We'll have to play it by ear as to how to use it, though." The wind threatened to blow Ohio's fedora off and he quickly reached up and grabbed it. "I think the weather is getting worse. Let's head back to the airship."

* * *

Ohio stared out the window of the gondola. It was not snowing, but the wind blew the perpetual layer of snow around so much that all visibility was lost. He sighed. Rhode Island climbed down through the ceiling hatch and handed him a steaming mug of tea. Ohio accepted it. "How exactly did you make tea?"

"There were tea leaves in that chest over there and I just melted some snow for the water."

"How did heat it?"

"I climbed out to one of the engines and set the mugs on the exhaust manifold."

Ohio hesitantly took a sip. "This tastes like eucalyptus leaves soaked in gasoline."

"What did you expect?"

Ohio sighed. "I don't know. At least it's warm. Thank you." He took another sip, ignoring the flavor. He went back to staring out the window.

Rhode Island removed the pilot's cap and put his fedora back on before taking a sip from his own mug. "Thinking about Isabella?"

"Yeah. Being kidnapped by a madman is bad enough, but then being dragged across this frozen wasteland…I sure hope she's okay."

Rhode Island sat down on a crate next to Ohio. "You know, I used to look at you two and think 'that is about the most perfect couple I've ever seen. That's what I want out of life.' I'd never seen two people more in love." Ohio closed his eyes, Rhode Island's words bringing back many memories. "I still cannot imagine what could have possibly happened to end such a beautiful friendship."

"I don't want to talk about it."

Rhode Island placed a hand on Ohio's shoulder. "Keeping it bottled up won't help. It's time you told me."

Ohio sighed. He took a sip of his tea and set it on the control panel. "It was my own fault. I drove her away. I didn't mean to." Rhode Island watched Ohio clench his fists. "We were in love. A love like I could never imagine. But…she couldn't take the separation. She needed me…she needed me to be home for her. She needed the togetherness. Meanwhile, I was hop-scotching all over the globe with you."

Ohio took another sip before continuing. "After our trip to Australia, she told me that she was suffering from depression. She could stand about a week and a half without me, and then she would get incredibly depressed until I came home.

"So I promised her I would make my trips shorter. I would come back to her sooner." Ohio hung his head. "It was a promise I couldn't keep. After our expedition to the Mediterranean, she told me she couldn't do it anymore. Without any way to get in touch with me…no way of knowing if I was still alive…she couldn't take the uncertainty."

Rhode Island thought Ohio was done, but he wasn't.

"And then I did the worst thing I could have…"

* * *

_"You can't expect me to look at the calendar and say, 'I guess that's all I have time for, I have to go home. Pack up the supplies!' when I'm right on the verge of a great find! This is my life! This is what I do!"_

_"Ohio, I'm your fiancé! Marriage is a two-way street! Sometimes we have to make sacrifices for each other! I'm not asking you to give up on exploring! But I need you here! At home!"_

_"You don't understand, Isabella! I can't just stop in the middle of an expedition! It's not over until we have found everything there is to discover! You can't just cut off in the middle and say, 'I'll come back next year,' because by then, someone else may have found it, or it could be destroyed by a natural disaster."_

_"No, you don't understand! When you're gone for too long and I don't have any idea if you're safe, or even still alive, I can't eat, I can't sleep, and a few times, I've considered suicide!"_

_"Then you just need to deal with your detachment issues!"_

_"You're right…I do. Goodbye, Ohio Flynn."_

* * *

Ohio took something from his pocket. It was a silver ring, a brilliant green emerald in the setting. It had once graced Isabella's left hand. He looked at it longingly, turning it over in his fingers. "I was angry. I honestly thought I'd be better off without her." He shut his eyes and closed his fingers around the ring. "I couldn't have been more wrong."

Rhode Island was shocked, though he didn't show it. "You never told me that you were engaged."

"I didn't tell anyone. She asked me not to. I think she was waiting to see if I could keep my promise."

"So that's why you stopped going on expeditions."

"Yeah. I kept hoping that maybe she would see that I could change. Maybe she would come back. I didn't find out until a few months later that she had moved to Chicago."

Rhode Island placed his arm around Ohio's shoulder, but the man did not look at him. He still had his eyes closed. "Phineas." Ohio opened his eyes and looked at his friend. "You still love her?"

"Even more today than I did back then."

Rhode Island looked him dead in the eye. "You know what you have to do, then."

"Yes. I have to make things right." Ohio looked at the ring again and wiped his eyes. "But we have something even more important to do first." He reached into the pocket of his leather jacket and removed the gun he had taken from the cabinet. "Isabella needs closure, and I need revenge."

**Next chapter should be the last one, but I've been wrong before. Definitely no more than two more.**

**Please review!**


	11. Chapter 10: The Serpent's Sacrifice

Chapter 10: The Serpent's Sacrifice

Rhode Island peered through what was left of the glass in the rear window, the hole in which they had patched with an old tarp to keep out the cold. It had been two days since they'd arrived at the north pole and there was still no sign of Doofenshmirtz and Isabella. The constant drone of the idling engines was beginning to get on Rhode Island's nerves. Ohio, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to the noise. He had succumbed to sleep, the incredible exhaustion of his many fights and chases having finally caught up to him. He was currently out cold in the co-pilot's chair, his fedora placed over his eyes.

Rhode Island knew that soon enough, they would have to head back or they wouldn't have enough fuel to reach Greenland. They could only afford to wait about another eight hours.

Ohio groaned as he awoke, pushing his fedora back and standing up. He stretched and joined Rhode Island by the rear window. "See anything out there?"

"Just snow." The wind wasn't gusting quite so hard anymore, but the visibility was still low as loose snow was blown around.

"I'd hate to imagine have to cross that landscape on foot," Ohio continued. "I almost can't imagine how you could survive this weather."

Rhode Island tapped gently on the glass. "I think they'll be just fine. Doofenshmirtz is much smarter now that he's gone screwy in the head."

Ohio crouched down to get a better view. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing."

* * *

There was a speck.

Was there? Maybe it was just a smudge on the glass. He picked at it with his finger.

_Nope. That is definitely outside._

He ran to the control panel and picked up a pair of binoculars. He returned quickly to the window and looked through the glasses.

"Rhode Island?"  
Rhode Island had just managed to doze off and was not thrilled about being woken up again. "Hmm?"

"Come look at this."

Rhode Island grudgingly pulled himself to his feet and trudged over to Ohio and took the binoculars. For a few moments he stared through the glasses silently. Then he handed them back to Ohio. "Sled dogs."

"Yup. I believe Heinz Doofenshmirtz has arrived."

Rhode Island grabbed the revolver from the copilot's seat where they'd left it and checked to make sure it was fully loaded. "Any ideas on how to gain the upper hand here?" He tossed the gun to Ohio, who caught it.

"As a matter of fact, I do…"

* * *

Doofenshmirtz hauled back on the reins. "Whoa! Whoa!" No sooner had the sled dog team slowed to a stop than Doofenshmirtz grabbed Isabella's arm and dragged her off the sled into the snow.

"You'll never get away with this! Ohio and Rhode Island beat you here!" Isabella screamed at him. They had noticed the zeppelin floating in the freezing air a ways back. "They'll stop you!"

"Oh, I quite doubt that." Doofenshmirtz took something out of his pocket as he spoke. It was a small black rock, polished smooth. He had found it with the head segment of the serpent, and it would show him where magnetic north was. He lightly tossed it straight up in the air. The stone flew away as if in slow-motion, and Doofenshmirtz chased after it, towing Isabella along behind him.

The stone skipped along the hard, frozen surface of the snow for some distance as if pushed along by an invisible hand. Finally, it came to a stop. "Ah, the magnetic pole of planet earth. You know, the magnetic north pole is actually the magnetic south pole because the north end of the magnet in a compass is attracted to it. So even though it's the geographic north pole, it has to be the south pole."

Isabella opened her mouth to say something, but then shuttered and her eyes went wide with fear as Doofenshmirtz pulled a large knife from the sheath strapped to his leg. Then he produced a small cloth pouch tied closed with a piece of string. He untied it and poured the four segments of the Golden Serpent into the palm of his glove.

"What do you say we get started?" Doofenshmirtz suggested, an evil gleam in his eyes. Isabella stepped back from him. He held up the knife and grabbed her forearm again. He spun her around so she faced away from him and put the knife blade against her throat.

Isabella shook both from fear and cold. "Please…please…" she sobbed.

"Don't worry, dear. It'll be over quick, and you're lucky. You won't even have to suffer the end of the world."

"No!" Isabella shrieked.

Doofenshmirtz raised the knife.

There was the sound of shifting snow, an audible click, and then a cold voice. "Don't move."

Doofenshmirtz turned around, still holding the knife to Isabella's throat. Ohio Flynn and Rhode Island Fletcher stood almost knee deep in the snow, covered in the white powder. Ohio was pointing a revolver at Doofenshmirtz.

"Buried yourselves in the snow, huh?" Doofenshmirtz observed.

"Yup."

"Well, it doesn't matter. You're too late." Doofenshmirtz's arm twitched and the knife began to slide across Isabella's throat.

Ohio fired.

The sound of the gunshot echoed across the empty landscape. Doofenshmirtz fell backwards, releasing Isabella from his grasp.

Ohio had been aiming at Doofenshmirtz's head, but the wind had affected the bullet's trajectory. It only skimmed the side of Doofenshmirtz's cheek, tearing through the hood on the parka. Doofenshmirtz groaned in pain as blood leaked from his cheek and he dropped the knife into the snow.

Ohio lowered the revolver. He inhaled sharply. "Gotcha."

"Uh…Ohio?" Isabella was clutching her upper arm just below her shoulder. The sleeve of her gray parka had turned a deep shade of red. When Doofenshmirtz fell backwards, the knife had sliced across her right arm, right through her sleeve and into her skin. The blade was so sharp she had barely felt it.

Ohio and Rhode Island quickly rushed over to her. Blood was pouring out of the wound, running down her arm and dripping steadily out the end of her sleeve, turning a small circle of snow beside her red.

"Don't worry, Isabella, we've got medical supplies in the zeppelin," Ohio said hurriedly. "You'll be fine."

None of them noticed as Doofenshmirtz lifted his head behind them. He was still clutching the four segments of the Golden Serpent in his hand. He tossed them at the patch of bloody snow. "You're wrong, Ohio Flynn. Dead wrong."

They all looked at Doofenshmirtz and then down into the bloody snow. The four pieces were moving toward each other.

"No!" Ohio cried.

"Yes! Yes! It's working!" Doofenshmirtz yelled out in triumph.

Ohio dove at him, fists clenched. He smashed Doofenshmirtz's nose in, then pounded his cheek. Then the other cheek, then his left eye. Ohio expected Doofenshmirtz to cry out in pain, but the madman didn't. Instead, he was _laughing_. "You're too late, Flynn."

Ohio looked at the pieces again. They had all joined. As Ohio quickly stood back up, the gold color faded away, turning black. There was a hiss and the snake flicked red its tongue. Rhode Island started to reach for it and it darted away, winding its way through the snow.

"Quick! Grab it! Don't let get away!" Ohio shouted as he stood up and started running. Rhode Island tried to crush it with his boot, but missed. He tried again and this time managed to stomp on the snake, but it just burrowed through the snow and continued racing across the ice.

The snake stopped where Doofenshmirtz's stone had landed and dug it's head into the snow, heading straight down. Ohio dove and grabbed for it, but the tail slipped between his fingers and the snake disappeared into the snow. "No!"

"No!" Rhode Island and Isabella cried.

"Yes!" Doofenshmirtz yelled out in victory.

"Ngrgrgrgrgrgrgr."

Everyone turned toward the sound. A teal platypus stood there in the snow wearing a dark brown fedora. The platypus ran full speed toward the spot where the serpent had disappeared and dove into the snow as if it were a liquid. And then it was gone.

"Did everybody else just see the anthropomorphic platypus?" Rhode Island asked calmly.

* * *

Agent P clawed his way through the snow, ignoring the stinging cold. After what seemed like forever, he hit snow too hard to dig through. He could still see the hole where the serpent had burrowed through, though. He quickly removed his fedora and flicked a hidden switch under the band. The brim began to rotate around the crown, from which grew a handle. Agent P pressed the hat/drill against the snow and a tunnel big enough for him to crawl through appeared.

The hard snow soon turned to ice, but the hat/drill chewed through it with ease. Finally, Agent P hit water. The hat returned to its original state and he jammed it back on his head before taking a deep breath and diving into the water.

He swam as hard as he could straight down, his beaver-like tail propelling Agent P through the frigid water with lightning speed.

Ahead was the serpent. It was almost to sea floor. With one final burst of speed, Agent P reached it. Just as the snake was burying its head into the sand, Agent P grabbed it. When he pulled it out of the sand, it whipped it's head around and tried to bite him. So, Agent P took off his hat and put the serpent inside, rolling the fedora around it and holding it tightly to keep it from escaping.

Out of breath and limbs numb from the cold, Agent P pushed off the bottom and swam hard for the surface.

* * *

Ohio picked himself up out of the snow and trudged over to Isabella. He knocked the snow off his hat before he spoke. "I think we've got a few minutes before the serpent can burrow all the way through the earth, so I need to say a few things."

Isabella, still clutching her arm, said, "No, I need to say a few things. I want to apologize."

Ohio raised an eyebrow. "_You_ need to apologize? For what?"

She looked away from him. "For trying to take you away from what you love. I know you love archeology and adventuring, and I don't want you to stop. It was selfish of me to try to make you cut back."

"Well, I'm sorry that I neglected you. I should have done a better time making time for you. I was selfish for not paying attention to your feelings," Ohio said.

Their eyes finally met. "I think we both could have done better," Isabella said, smiling sadly.

They wrapped their arms around each other in a comforting hug. "Are you willing to give me another chance?" Ohio asked.

"Only if you can give me another chance."

They looked at each other and smiled.

"This is real touching," Doofenshmirtz quipped from where he still lay on his back in the snow. "Too bad you couldn't have made up before the world was destroyed."

Ohio let go of Isabella and stepped over to Doofenshmirtz. He said not a word, he just kicked Doofenshmirtz in the groin. The madman finally cried out in pain and hurriedly covered his injured parts with his hands, moaning.

Rhode Island looked toward the airship floating about a hundred yards away. "We could probably survive the apocalypse in the zeppelin," he suggested.

"Why bother?" Ohio said. "We'd run out of fuel in ten or twelve hours and then we wouldn't have any food or water or medicine…we might as well just stay here and take our lumps just like everyone else on the planet."

Rhode Island shrugged.

The platypus suddenly emerged from the hole. He handed his now frozen hat to Rhode Island. The adventurer unrolled it and then quickly wrapped it up again as the serpent tried to escape. "He caught it!"

"What?" Ohio yelled. As he helped Isabella stagger over to Rhode Island, no one noticed as Doofenshmirtz picked up the knife from the snow and hid it underneath his jacket.

Rhode Island showed his friends what was inside the fedora. "Wow!" Ohio exclaimed. "I can't believe it! You saved us! You save the whole world." The platypus smiled and waved it off, wrapping his arms around himself, trying to ward off the cold. His fur was covered with little ice crystals.

"Don't let that thing get away, Rhode Island. That will be quite interesting to study when he get home." Ohio started walking through the snow back toward Doofenshmirtz. "Come on. We'd better get back to the airship so we can patch up Isabella. I'm sure our platypus friend here could use some warming up." He knelt down next to Doofenshmirtz. "I'm sure Detective Marcis will be very happy to have you back in prison."

Doofenshmirtz said nothing. His face remained stoic. Ohio pulled him up out of the snow and led him over to the others. "Come on, guys. Let's go."

Rhode Island bent down and picked up the black stone that Doofenshmirtz had used to find the magnetic pole. He looked around for the sled dogs but they were no where to be found. He shrugged and they set out for the airship.

They walked back toward the airship in silence. They were about halfway back when Isabella walked closer to Doofenshmirtz. She looked at his face and he narrowed his eyes at her. "I hate you," she said slowly. "I'm glad Ohio didn't kill you. That would have been too easy. You deserve to spend the rest of your life rotting in jail."

Doofenshmirtz slowed his speed just slightly so that Isabella edged ahead of him. He walked behind her for a few moments.

Ohio thought he saw something flash out of the corner of his eye. He turned just in time to see Doofenshmirtz thrust his big knife into Isabella's back. The tip of the blade exited her stomach, ripping though her parka. Blood began to pour from the wound.

Isabella could not speak. She just gasped, her eyes bulging wide.

"NO!" Ohio shouted.

Doofenshmirtz laughed evilly. "I may have failed to destroy the world, and I may have failed to kill you, but I can still make you suffer, Ohio Flynn!"

**Yup. I was wrong again. ****_Now_**** there's only one chapter left.**

**I don't think I need to say "Please Review" here, because you're probably all going to yell at me now.**


	12. Chapter 11: Hit It With a RockEpilogue

Chapter 11: Hit it with a Rock

As Doofenshmirtz cackled again, he titled the knife down so that Isabella slid off the blade into the snow.

Teeth clenched in rage, Ohio pulled the revolver from his pocket. He squeezed the trigger. Doofenshmirtz dropped into the snow, dead, a red circle in the middle of his forehead, the snow around him turning dark red with blood.

Ohio tossed the gun aside and dropped to his knees beside Isabella, gently turning her over and cradling her head in his hands. She breathed hard and slow through her mouth, the sound accompanied by a sickening gurgle as blood found its way into her lungs.

"Isabella…no…" Ohio groaned. "No…no…Isabella, I'm sorry…"

"Ohio…" she whispered. "Seck…d…sec…nd…part…" Blood leaked from the corners of her mouth, further hindering her ability to speak.

"Second part?" Ohio asked.

"Of…fff…ma…us..pt…"

"Of manuscript? Second part of manuscript?" Ohio's eyes went wide. "The second part of the manuscript! About the serpent!" He turned around to face Rhode Island. "Rhode Island, quick! Give me that thing!"

Rhode Island carefully handed Ohio the platypus's frozen fedora. Ohio pulled out the snake from within, holding it just behind the head so that it was unable to bite him. It wriggled about in his grip, trying to escape.

"I need something to crush it with!" Ohio yelled.

Rhode Island produced the black stone that Doofenshmirtz had used to find the magnetic pole. "Here, hit it with a rock."

Ohio took the rock from him. He put the snake on Doofenshmirtz's head so that he would have a hard surface to crush the snake against and lifted the rock high above his head. He brought it down with all his might, and the stone smashed the serpent's head. The snake went limp.

Ohio returned to Isabella and dropped the rock and the snake in the snow. He quickly unzipped her parka and lifted her shirt so that her midsection was exposed. The gaping wound in her stomach gushed blood. Ohio wiped as much blood away with his handkerchief as he could and then picked up the serpent again. He squeezed the snake with his fingers from the bottom up toward the top, as one might do to a tube of toothpaste. A drop of the serpent's blood rolled out of its limp mouth and fell onto Isabella's wound.

The drop hissed when it landed. The wound instantly began to heal, very slowly. Rhode Island and the platypus opened their mouths in shock. Ohio began to massage the snake's body harder, and soon, a thin stream of watery blood dripped from the snake's mouth. The wound closed up.

"Help me turn her over again!" Ohio cried, and Rhode Island and the platypus rushed over to help. Ohio repeated the process on Isabella's lower back where the knife blade had pierced. The wound slowly disappeared until all that was left was a tiny scar.

Ohio turned Isabella back over. Her eyes were closed. "Isabella? Isabella, can you hear me?"

For a moment there was no response. Just when Ohio was beginning to think he had failed, Isabella slowly opened her eyes.

"Isabella!"

"Ohio…" The corners of her mouth turned gently upward in a weak smile.

Ohio pulled her out of the snow and wrapped his arms around her. He couldn't help it. He started crying as Isabella slipped unconscious.

* * *

Epilogue

_A week later_

Isabella had been expecting the knock on the door, and she hurried to answer it. Ohio leaned casually against the door frame, dressed in his gray suit, but with his old fedora perched on his head. It was exactly the way he had looked four years ago, the first time he had shown up at her apartment. He gave her a loving smile.

Isabella sighed and smiled back as she leaned on the open door. "Are you ever going to take off that dumb hat?"

Ohio stepped forward and placed his hands on either side of Isabella's face. "I'm about as likely to stop wearing this hat as I am likely to stop loving you."

"In that case, I hope you never take it off."

They leaned toward each other and kissed gently. When they finally pulled apart, Ohio reached into his pocket and removed the ring, the emerald sparkling brilliantly in the afternoon sun streaming in through the windows. "I've carried this with me every day since you left, hoping that someday, I'd be able to return it to its rightful owner." He took Isabella's left hand and lifted it up. "So I have to ask you again…" Isabella smiled at him, looking slightly embarrassed. "Isabella Garcia-Shapiro…will you marry me?"

"Of course I will."

Ohio slid the ring onto her finger, then kissed her again. "I resigned my position at the museum," he said.

"What? Why?"

"You're more important to me than archeology. No more trekking around the world for me. I am now the assistant curator of the Museum of Natural History."

Isabella pulled Ohio closer to her. "I knew there was a reason I love you. But you didn't have to do that."

"I know. I wanted to. I owe it to you." They kissed again. "There's just one last thing I have to do before I call it quits, and I want you to come with me and Rhode Island."

"Sure! Where are we going?"

Ohio let go of her, his smile fading away. "To bury a friend."

* * *

The door swung open into the crypt of Qin Shi Huang. Rhode Island, dressed in his adventure gear, led the way into the room, followed by Ohio, who held Isabella's hand. Isabella had dressed as she had during their adventure in the Temple of Juatchadoon, complete with a pith helmet.

The room was deathly silent. Gone were the terra cotta warriors that had come to life and attacked them last time they were here. Only the few broken statues remained on the floor. In the center was the body of Django Brown, face down, surrounded by a dried pool of his own blood.

The three stood around the body. Rhode Island removed his hat in respect. Ohio sighed. "Never could you find a better excavator and loyal friend in one person. I wish I could bring him back."

"He's in a better place now," Rhode Island said.

"I just feel so guilty. I dragged him into this trying to save you," he said, looking at Isabella, "and I did save you…but I lost him."

They stood silently for a moment.

"Where should we bury him?" Isabella asked.

"I think we'll just bury him on the mountain top," Ohio answered. "It'll be like he has his own tomb in Mount Li."

"I think he would find it fitting," Rhode Island said.

* * *

They set down their shovels beside the rectangular hole in the ground. Django's body lay nearby, wrapped in white cloth. Ohio and Rhode Island lifted the bundle carefully into the hole.

"Goodbye, Django Brown," Ohio said.

"Farewell, friend," Rhode Island murmured.

"Thank you for your brave but unintentional sacrifice," Isabella finished.

They each picked up a shovel and filled in the hole. Then they left Mount Li, heading for Singapore.

* * *

_Two months later_

Ohio was straightening his tie when he heard the knock on the door of his office. "Come in," he called out.

The door opened, revealing Irving, dressed in his standard blue suit, yet somehow appearing more formal than usual. "Are you ready, Phineas?"

Ohio turned away from the small mirror that hung on the back wall of his office. His usual messy red hair had been combed out neatly and he was dressed in a new black suit. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Irving smiled. "Good…I think."

Ohio followed Irving out of the office and up the stairs to the main floor of the museum. Irving had suggested that Ohio and Isabella hold the wedding in the huge lobby of the museum, and the bride and groom thought it would be a rather fitting place for their wedding. "Plus, it's got really good acoustics," Irving had said.

The stairs led them up to a service door at the back of the museum, right in the middle of the Eskimo exhibit. Rhode Island met them there, also dressed in a new dark suit.

"Are you ready, old friend?" Rhode Island asked.

"Sure am. You have the rings?" Rhode Island patted his breast pocket. "Good."

Irving led the way through the downstairs gallery to the back of the lobby, which had been blocked off by curtains. "Good luck," he said, shaking Ohio's hand.

"Thank you, Irving."

Irving disappeared through the curtain to find his seat.

Ohio and Rhode Island looked at each other. Rhode Island gave his old friend a reassuring smile, but Ohio wasn't really nervous. Ohio took a deep breath and the two adventurers entered the lobby to take their places on the alter.

* * *

Isabella stepped up onto the alter that Ohio and Rhode Island had built in the lobby. When the procession music ended, before the priest could begin, she took Ohio's hand and looked into his eyes. "Are you ready?" she asked him with a smile.

"Yes. Yes I am."

Isabella's smile became slightly mischievous. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. After all…" Ohio grinned and leaned closer so that only she could hear him. "It's just another adventure."

The End

**Based on the reviews at the end of the last chapter, it sounded like most of you thought Isabella was dead. No, only happy endings in my stories. **

**I hope you all liked this Ohio Flynn and Rhode Island Fletcher adventure. I sure had fun writing it!**


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